


Stardust Running Through Her Veins

by Lula_Landry



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Cunnilingus, Dark Magic, Detectives, Dominant Kylo Ren, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Jedi Ben Solo, Jedi Rey (Star Wars), Jedi Temple (Star Wars), Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Masturbation, Murder Mystery, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Rey (Star Wars), Teacher-Student Relationship, The Force, Using the Dark Side of the Force (Star Wars), Virgin Rey (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:48:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29010807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lula_Landry/pseuds/Lula_Landry
Summary: Rey from Jakku is a Jedi padawan. She has already learnt so much from attending Luke Skywalker’s new academy and is now apprenticed to their best and brightest, Master Ben Solo. Hoping to move the Jedi order into the future, Luke opens up the temple to outside sects and factions, causing problems amongst his peers. It’s bad enough that Ben seems distracted by these new teachings, but there are even darker powers at play than Rey realises. A brutal murder takes place, and master and apprentice must unite in an effort to save the legacy of the Jedi, becoming more together than they ever could have been apart.“I would say you held the key to my heart, but you never needed it. From the beginning I knew I could leave it unlocked for you.” -Amanda Lovelace,The Princess Saves Herself In This One.
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 26
Kudos: 47





	1. I've Tried Before To Tell Her

Looking back on the last forty-eight hours, Rey wasn’t sure how so innocuous a beginning could end in an intergalactic incident.

Her first inkling that something was wrong was when she noticed Master Solo’s study door open. She knew _she_ hadn’t left the door hanging wide open. That was the main thing she’d learnt as his padawan- the importance of keeping her master’s door closed. Although it wasn’t Ben Solo but Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker who thought it important.

“We don’t want anything wandering in or out of Ben’s office,” the head of the Jedi Council had said while Rey stood before him, vibrating with nervous energy over her new appointment. “Especially not out,” Luke added, looking disapprovingly at some of Master Solo’s more unusual pets.

Indeed, everyone at Coruscant’s Jedi Temple knew better than to stroll uninvited into Ben’s study. But since it was day one of the first ever Interplanetary Conference of the Force, the hallways were overflowing with strangers who wouldn’t know any better. 

Rey frowned at the open door, her Force foresight buzzing a warning. Surely that’s all it was- someone who didn’t know any better. Not someone deliberately causing trouble. She knew Luke was worried about the possibility of disruptive elements amongst the many sentient beings who had gathered for the conference. 

“There’ll be some kind of trouble, Ben, I guarantee it!” Rey heard Master Skywalker declare a few nights ago.

“From old Even?” Ben had asked, referring to Grand Master Piell. “Surely even someone with his prejudices would be loath to embarrass the Jedi order publicly.”

Master Solo was in his study and had fixed mugs of Hoth chocolate for himself and Luke. He pushed a third mug wordlessly towards Rey where she sat in a dusty corner of the room organising his scrolls. To be fair, every inch of Master Solo’s room was dusty.

“Who knows what’s going on in that wrinkled head of his,” Luke muttered after a long pull of the sweet drink. “And even if Even has the good sense to show diplomatic restraint, we can’t discount the fact that one of his supporters might take it upon themselves to prove a point. An audience this large can be a temptation to a certain degenerate mindset.”

“Don’t forget the veritable army of enemies Master Piell has accumulated over the years,” Ben mumbled, staring disapprovingly down at his empty mug as if he hadn’t just chugged it all in one go. 

Rey drifted into a dreamy memory of happily sipping Hoth chocolate while she organised Master Solo’s paperwork but quickly called herself to account. She needed to stay sharp. Ben’s open study door might be a sign of trouble, though she wasn’t sure what kind of hijinks Luke expected. No one could deny that the atmosphere in the Jedi temple had grown tense in the last two weeks. Tenser than usual, that is. Rebuilding a Jedi order wasn’t an easy business.

Rey took a deep breath, tiptoed up to the study door and looked in. The Kowakian monkey-lizards (of which Master Solo had six) were not in their usual place. At that hour, they would normally have been lying on and around the windowsill taking their after-breakfast nap, sunning their round little bellies and belching softly from time to time. But they were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the sill contained Master Solo’s Loth-cat, Salacious, who should have been asleep in Ben’s chair. Salacious was washing himself with great fury, throwing the occasional baleful glare at the back of said chair, round eyes dilated, large mouth salivating and yellow fur standing up in tufts.

Rey stifled a groan. She would have to evict whoever was idiotic enough to claim Master Solo’s chair as their own and then go over the entire study with a fine tooth comb to ensure none of his creatures had wandered off. Unfortunately, most of Ben’s pets were capable of eating anything and anyone.

She stepped inside, closing the door carefully behind her. All of a sudden, she was overcome with a fit of sneezing.

It was the smell. Master Solo’s study had been home to many odours in the short time she’d been apprenticed to him, not all of them pleasant. Yet she’d never encountered such a strong, cloying, sickly-sweet smell before, like rotting flowers with a nasty undertone of stale musk. 

Rey steeled herself, walking up to the intruder. Ben had a well earned reputation for being the most highly skilled Jedi in their ranks, but his study habits were notoriously disorganised. It would be hard for anyone apart from Master Solo himself to make sense of his papers, though after all these months by his side Rey was beginning to recognise a pattern in the chaos. 

She froze in surprise when she saw a woman sitting in Ben’s chair. A beautiful and relatively young woman, older than Rey certainly, perhaps closer to Ben’s age. She wore a gown of reflective silver, as if chromium had been melted down and spread over slippery cloth, and rather too many (in Rey’s opinion) rings, bangles and chains. 

You didn’t see many human females at the Jedi temple apart from a few sentient servers, and certainly none silly enough to invade Master Solo’s study. In fact, Rey was the only human female padawan on the premises. There were females of other races, of course, the biggest contingent coming from Mirial, sober-faced Jedi knights with green or purple skin and black geometric tattoos. It seemed their kind had a predisposition towards Force sensitivity. 

So obviously the woman was a visitor, come for Master Skywalker’s conference. Based on her dress sense alone, Rey pegged her as a Nightsister, an order of witches from Dathomir. Once more, Rey was struck by the woman’s youth. She was a lot younger than many of the other witches Rey had seen escorted to the guest quarters that morning. 

A travelling cloak was draped across the nearby table but Rey doubted their visitor had travelled very far in her slinky, low cut gown. She glanced down involuntarily at her own worn apprentice’s tunic and hose, her boots scuffed and dusty. She’d never had anything as nice as the intruder’s dress to wear in her lifetime. The woman’s legs were crossed in such a way that her skirt was split open, showing several inches of leanly muscled thigh, a most uncomfortable position. Rey hadn’t seen so much skin since the last time she’d sparred with Jedi Master Aayla Secura, a Twi’lek female whose uniform was as scanty as her patience with mistakes. 

The woman was leaning over a leather bound book in a pose that showed both her overripe bosoms and fine profile to advantage. She was quite lovely, her skin as delicate as the petals of a jade rose, her eyes the cool blue of pebbles in the depths of a fountain, her hair the bright gold of Jakku sunshine. That was when Rey realised, even though they had yet to exchange a single word, she didn’t like this woman. For her to compare the intruder to anything in Jakku- her scorched and sand blasted home world- was a bad sign. 

The woman held her sensual pose for several seconds longer than was believable before looking up, her features arranged in an expression of dramatic surprise. As soon as she realised before her stood Rey and not her intended audience, her face contracted into a distinctly less stylish scowl.

“Who,” she demanded pompously, “are you?”

Rey reminded herself she was learning to be Jedi and controlling emotions was a part of her discipline. Gritting her teeth, she replied, “I assist Master Solo whose study you are in.”

“Well, don’t just stand there, you silly girl,” the woman snapped. “Go and fetch your master.”

Rey swallowed the Crolute curse words that flew into her mind at this outrageous request. After all, she had every right to be in Ben’s study, while this woman- well, who knew who she was? Except perhaps the intruder was a long standing friend of the master’s and should be treated with respect.

Rey recognised a familiar arrogance in the woman’s behaviour- she’d worked under one as self-important as her before. Only three short years ago, Rey had been a scavenger on Jakku. She was an orphan who owed her daily existence to Unkar Plutt’s moody temperament. The junk boss controlled everything on Niima Outpost, from salvage trades to water supplies, making a hard life even harder.

And then Rebellion General Han Solo had flown in to recover a starship called the Millennium Falcon from Unkar’s yard and everything changed. Rey’s mechanical know-how proved helpful when it came to getting the rustbucket in the air and Han offered to fly her off planet as thanks. After ten long years, Rey had reached the realisation that her parents were likely never coming back for her and Han’s arrival seemed like fate… or, as it turned out, the moving of the Force.

Han took Rey to Coruscant with the promise of finding her work at some workshop or another, but as soon as she met Chancellor Leia Organa Solo, her fate was sealed. General Solo’s wife, the Princess of Alderaan and now leader of the New Republic, recognised the spark of Force inside Rey and immediately took the young girl to her twin brother’s fledgling Jedi temple. In the old days, Rey’s application to enter the Jedi academy would have been rejected due to her age, but Luke had significantly loosened the reigns in his desire to rebuild the order. 

Master Ben was already a Jedi knight at the time, well on his way to fulfilling his family’s heroic legacy. As the son of Han and Leia, and the nephew of Luke, it was a wonder he hadn’t buckled under the weight of so much expectation.

So here Rey was, happier, healthier and with a promising future. It would be wise of her not to tempt fate (or the Force) by losing her temper in this situation.

“I’ll go find Master Solo,” Rey said stiffly. “May I request your name?”

“Phasma,” the woman said, her voice slightly breathy on the first syllable, making it sound suggestive.

Rey noticed in dismay that Phasma was reading one of Ben’s rare books, a compendium of Uueg Tching’s gnomic precepts. Pretending to read it, Rey then realised, hiding a grin. Apparently Phasma had no idea that because of the peculiarities of their anatomy, the Atrisian people wrote diagonally rather than horizontally, and bound their books on the bottom- all of which meant Phasma was holding the volume sideways.

Phasma noticed Rey staring and gave her an icy glare, robbing those blue eyes of their beauty. Had she been nicer, Rey might have corrected her usage of the tome. She turned to go and just as she was leaving heard Salacious give a delicate, catty sneeze. 

Of course, fetching Ben would be a lot easier if she had any idea where he was. Rey had to search the main halls which were teeming with every imaginable kind of Force and supernatural power user. There were the sages from Baran Do, the warlocks of the Blue Coral Divers Clan, the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance, the Disciples of the Whills, the Mistweavers, the Phirmists and the Rockhawkers, and those who only called themselves The Ones. There were also practitioners of the Force from places so obscure they had yet to give themselves a name. 

Even amongst this crowd, Rey easily spotted the women- they fascinated her since she had no female of her own kind to look up to. She noted they were all significantly more wizened and weather-beaten than Phasma. 

When she finally found Ben, having cold fizzy Moogan tea with Master Skywalker in his study, he wasn’t overjoyed to hear that Phasma was waiting for him. Rey was quite gratified by his reaction.

“By the fires of Mustafar, what is she doing here?” he demanded.

“Come for the conference, obviously,” Luke said.

Ben snorted. “Phasma has the academic prowess of a Gungan child being distracted by iridescent bubbles.”

“Now, now,” Luke murmured, a tiny smile on his lips. “She’s our guest, and one of the official delegates from Dathomir.”

Rey watched her master closely, more curious than ever about his connection to the beautiful blonde witch. 

“Surely you haven’t made Phasma a speaker? That will get tongues wagging,” Ben said.

“Of course not,” Luke replied, his tone mild.

“I should think so,” Ben grumbled. “Your biggest selling point in getting everyone here was the creation of an intergalactic ethical standard of Force usage- not exactly a topic Phasma’s too interested in.” 

“You’re starting to sound like old Master Even Piell,” Luke said reprimandingly, though his tone was teasing. 

“Damned if I am!” Ben snapped. “He thinks this conference is an abomination- I believe those were his exact words. Did you know Even’s started a petition to have the whole thing declared sacrilegious? I agree with you, by the way. Our numbers are so low we should be learning from other branches of Force users.”

“Even the witches?” Luke said, clearly referencing Phasma.

“Especially the witches,” Ben concurred. “The Jedi know almost nothing about how their so-called magic works. Yes, it’s tied to their planet and yes, it leans towards the dark side, but what does that mean? And then there’s all these potions and brews they concoct using the flora and fauna on Dathomir. There’s a whole world of Force knowledge of which we are ignorant.”

“So perhaps Phasma’s visit today isn’t so unwelcome?” Luke suggested.

Rey tried not to frown at Master Skywalker. It was all very well and good to promote cordial relations for the sake of trading information between different sects of Force users, but based on what she’d seen so far Phasma was not the best ambassador for the cause. Fortunately, Ben seemed to agree.

“Spare me,” Master Solo grumbled. “Anyone but Phasma will do.”

“I remind you she is our guest for the time being,” Luke said wearily. “This is probably the first and last time we’ll see her if Master Piell’s agitating is successful. But in the meantime…”

“Alright, already,” Ben said, gulping down the rest of his tea before standing up. He sounded so much like a petulant child that Rey was reminded of their familial relationship. She almost expected to hear him refer to Master Skywalker as ‘Uncle Luke’. “I promise I’ll be hospitable. I better go see what she wants.”

As Ben stalked out, trailed by Rey, Luke chuckled. “As if there was any doubt as to what Phasma wants.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know, in Canon…  
> \- Jedi Master Even Piell was alive during the Clone Wars, a gruff Lannik male who was also known for his bravery.  
> \- Hot chocolate is an exotic beverage introduced to Luke Skywalker by Lando Calrissian and became one of his favourite drinks, mentioned in quite a few novelisations. Hoth chocolate is a variation made with tauntaun milk.  
> \- Salacious B. Crumb is the name of Jabba the Hutt’s Kowakian monkey-lizard who acted as something of a court jester.  
> \- One of the most famous Mirialan female Jedi Masters was Luminara Unduli who was held in high regard. Unfortunately, it was her Mirialan female padawan Bariss Offee who framed Ahsoka Tano for a bombing.  
> \- The Nightsisters or Witches of Dathomir were an order of magic wielding females who lived on Dathomir. Their planet was bathed in dark energies and they learned to tap into the magical ichor that flowed from the depths of the land.  
> \- Jedi Master Aayla Secura was a Twi’lek female from Ryloth. She deliberately dressed in her skimpy traditional outfit to fight the stereotype that all Twi’lek women were slaves or entertainers.  
> \- Jade roses were cultivated in upper class sectors of Coruscant.  
> \- Uueg Tching’s ‘Sayings’ were originally private sayings to his heirs, then transcribed into print form for the Atrisian nobility. He was the fifty-fourth Emperor of Atrisia. Uueg’s empire was used as a basis by Palpatine in constructing his Galactic Empire.  
> \- Every group mentioned attending Luke Skywaker’s conference is a documented Force using contingent.  
> \- Moogan tea is from Mooga and generally served cold. It was once offered to Senator Padmé Amidala.


	2. The Feelings I Have For Her

Master Solo didn’t say anything on the way back to his study, and he walked so fast Rey could hardly keep up with him- though she had no trouble keeping his tall, broad frame in view as he ploughed through the crowded halls. The looks he attracted as he stormed past varied from admiring to suspicious.

It infuriated some that Ben Solo was as good a Jedi as he was. Not only was his mental acuity impressive, the man had a genuine love for books and research. He was responsible for the translation of some of the most arcane Jedi works, an endeavour everyone agreed was necessary since no one, not even Master Skywalker, wanted to rebuild the Jedi order based on his brief teachings from the now deceased Masters Kenobi and Yoda.

Ben was also the Temple’s best lightsaber wielder, barring Master Skywalker himself, and even then he could give his uncle a run for his credits. As a result, what should have been a gaunt, squinty-eyed male was instead a broad shouldered and thickly muscled man with black hair as messy as a ripper-raptor’s nest and amber eyes that flashed as clear as a Coruscanti lightning storm.

Rey hadn’t needed Master Skywalker to confirm that Phasma was there to ensnare Ben. Fortunately, Ben’s reaction to news of her arrival had been reassuring. No doubt he’d exchange a few polite words with Phasma and then toss her out of the study as quickly as possible. Rey was on standby to assist with the tossing out part. 

“Ben!” Phasma cried as he strode into the study. “I’m so glad to see you!”

“Phasma,” Master Solo began, “I—” He was interrupted by an almighty sneeze, startling the monkey-lizards who began chittering from their hiding place.

“Your study is rather dusty,” Phasma said, frowning at Rey. “It’s so difficult to get good help these days.”

“Oh, a little dust never hurt anyone,” Ben said unconcernedly. “And I don’t let the cleaner droids in. They could do untold damage bumping against my things.”

“Then what’s she here for?” Phasma asked, looking at Rey as if she was an unwelcome speck of dirt on a silk shoe.

“Rey’s a padawan,” Ben said, his tone seemingly surprised that Phasma hadn’t worked that out already. “In fact, she’s my padawan. You know our order likes to assign every master with an apprentice.” Rey met his amber gaze and her face grew quite warm as he added, “She’s a very promising young Jedi.”

Rey was alarmed by Phasma’s answering expression. The crinkle in the other woman’s nose and the tightness of her rouged red lips suggested Phasma wasn’t at all happy to learn that Rey was a fellow Force user.

Master Solo was also being remarkably polite. He wasn’t usually so nice to visitors. It wasn’t that he was rude, necessarily, it was just he had more important things on his mind than socialising. 

Rey had a sudden bad feeling. What if Ben’s show of annoyance in Luke’s study was just that- a show? By the Force, what if he actually liked Phasma?

Rey felt her heart twist inside her chest as Phasma sat down, once more in Ben’s chair. Instead of taking the other large chair beside it, however, he pulled a stool in from his workroom and perched on it at a safe distance away from the blonde. Rey tried not to laugh as he awkwardly tucked his big booted feet under the chair’s spindly legs.

Master Solo hadn’t dismissed her so Rey slipped into the workroom and tried to appear busy while maintaining absolute silence, in the hopes they’d forget she was there. She was feeling preternaturally protective about Ben with Phasma still in the room.

“I nearly forgot,” Phasma said in a return to her breathy tone. Rey’s internal feelers prickled at once. “I brought you a gift.” 

The pretty witch picked up a white cardboard box from Master Solo’s desk, a flouncy red ribbon tied around its side. 

“What is it?” Ben asked cautiously.

“Come and see,” she cooed, shooting him a glance that glimmered blue beneath lowered blonde lashes. 

Rey sidled closer to watch proceedings. Ben slid off his stool and went over to peer into the box.

“Sweets?” he asked.

“This is special candy,” Phasma giggled affectedly. 

She selected a piece of the bright orange stuff, bit into it, and uttered a small ecstatic moan. Rey resisted the urge to fling a particularly sharp edged calligraphy box at the other woman’s head. Phasma began chewing with her eyes half closed.

Ben watched the performance from where he stood, his angular face expressionless. 

Phasma swallowed, licked her red lips suggestively, and offered the box to Ben.

“You’ve never tasted such delicious blob candy,” she assured him.

“Blob? Too sickly sweet for me, I’m afraid,” Ben said with a grimace. He returned to his perch on the stool. 

“Really?” Phasma replied, her tone cold. “Well, perhaps you can offer it to your guests.”

As Phasma placed the box back on the table, Rey saw a small monkey-lizard head peek out from under the tablecloth following the motion of the witch’s hand. Then the monkey-lizard sneezed several times and used the hem of the tablecloth as a handkerchief. 

“Rey,” Ben said, surprising her since she was sure he’d forgotten her silent presence, “could you open a few windows? It smells… rather stuffy.”

Phasma stood abruptly to her feet. “I really must be going now,” she said, “but I do hope you’ll invite me back for tea.”

“Yes, of course,” Ben mumbled vaguely, “although I suppose you’ll be very busy with the conference.”

“There’s plenty of space in the schedule,” Phasma said with a gleaming smile. “We shall certainly find the time to get reacquainted.”

Ben stood and watched her leave.

Rey took several deep breaths as soon as the witch left the room. It was amazing how much easier it felt breathing all of a sudden. She then realised Ben had stopped frowning at the door and had turned to her with a lazy smile. 

“Well?” he asked.

She flushed, which was mortifying considering she’d become quite used to Master Solo’s presence and thought she’d gotten over stumbling and blushing every time he spoke to her. But Phasma’s presence had upset her equilibrium.

“She’s… an interesting woman,” Rey said hesitantly.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Phasma’s personality could do with recalibration, but that’s not what I meant. What did you notice?”

It came to her at once. The smell. She realised it wasn’t just Phasma’s overpowering perfume; the scent had carried with it some kind of influence. “Was she using the Force all this time?” Rey gasped. It felt different, more diffused.

“Mmm, definitely,” Ben said, reaching down to pick up Salacious who was rubbing against his legs. The Loth-cat was a much happier animal now that the bad woman was gone. “I wonder how her Force powers work. Perhaps the witch would call it a spell,” Ben mused. “It was quite neatly camouflaged, as Phasma intended, I’m sure.”

“You said the Nightsisters harness their abilities from their planet,” Rey said, thinking out loud.

“Yes?” Ben coaxed.

“But Phasma’s no longer on Dathomir. So perhaps it wasn’t traditional Force abilities.”

Ben smiled approvingly as he placed a purring Salacious on his chair. “I think it was her horrendous perfume. The plants of Dathomir are reputed to have their own special effects.” 

Rey was startled by this, and more than a little creeped out. 

“Let some air in and do something with that stuff, will you?” Ben said, waving his hand at the blob candy. “Take it to the dormitories if you like. The other padawans are welcome to it.” Then he left.

Rey stared at the glowing sweets for a minute. She had a suspicion eating it would do her no good and was glad Master Solo had abstained as well. She picked up the box, took off the lid and slid it gently underneath the tablecloth.

A flurry of squeaking and scrabbling noises erupted from beneath the table. A short while later, after she’d finished dusting the study and putting away a number of books, Rey reached back under the table, gently nudging the sleeping Kowakian monkey-lizards out of the way, and removed the empty box. 

“You can’t prove that the candy was doctored, can you?” Finn asked her later that day.

Finn was her best friend and also a padawan, a dark skinned human male with a big smile and sunny personality. In Rey’s opinion, Finn’s story of how he came to be at the Temple was much more exciting than her own. 

The New Republic had exposed a fledgling military junta called the First Order or the First Rule or something First- Rey couldn’t quite remember- and uncovered their plan to invade Finn’s village, intending to turn the populace into indentured slaves. That day Finn discovered he was Force sensitive when he instinctively used his abilities to fling a rock at the back of an attacker’s head. His actions saved a Republic pilot by the name of Poe Dameron and they became friends. In gratitude, Poe made sure Finn was scouted by Luke for his Jedi Academy. Finn was now apprenticed to Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, a wise and distinguished Cerean male.

Finn was as reckless and cheerful as Rey was cautious and sober, their different personalities complementing the friendship. It was a miracle they had never fought, though they were coming close to it now. 

Rey was annoyed that he was questioning her instincts when it came to the candy. “You’re just grumpy you didn’t get to stuff your face full of carbosyrup,” she snapped.

“Yeah, I am,” Finn agreed. “Why should Solo’s monkey-lizards have all the fun? And,” he continued, “you’re just being sensitive because this woman wants a piece of your man.”

“Excuse me?” Rey exclaimed, wishing the words had come out dignified rather than squeaky. 

Finn rolled his eyes. “Come on, Rey. You’re not half obvious.”

Rey was suddenly unhappy that she’d stumbled across her friend on such a busy day. She’s expected him to commiserate with her, not make her feel awkward.

“Rey, it’s okay,” Finn continued, though she wished he’d shut up, “you think you’re the first padawan to develop a crush on her master? I heard Master Unduli say she viewed her Jedi master as a father figure. One of the hardest things she had to do was distance herself from him so she could make the right choices in a battle.”

Rey wanted to say something in response but her throat had closed up, so dry she might have been trapped in a sand dervish after a hard day scavenging. Unfortunately, Finn took that as permission to keep going.

“And it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong. You know Master Skywalker removed the restrictions around celibacy. Jedi can marry now and have children. Not that I’m saying you should marry Ben Solo. I mean, the guy has half the females in the Temple running after him at the best of times, and I’m not sure about the ethics behind a master skrogging his own padawan…”

“Finn!” Rey yelled in desperation. “Shut. Up.”

Yes, she did know Jedi were now allowed to have romantic relationships, though it was strongly discouraged until you graduated and became a knight. It was one of the changes that had caused the big schism between those who were loyal to Luke and Master Even Piell’s more dogmatic followers. But that wasn’t the reason why her mind was spinning.

“Rey?” 

She looked up to see Finn watching her in dawning horror. 

“Rey, did you not know? Didn’t you realise you liked Solo?”

She shook her head and to her dismay hot tears prickled behind her eyelids. Kriff this, she needed to get out of there.

“I’ll see you later,” she said, the words coming out choked. 

Rey took off for the dormitories, avoiding the unnatural number of sentients in the corridors. As soon as she was alone she collapsed on her bed, letting the tears soak into her pillow. 

What were these feelings? She was drowning in them. It was as if awareness had opened a floodgate. Maker, Finn was right. She felt more for Ben than loyalty and admiration. 

She caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of an open window. Her normally tanned skin had turned pale, her hazel eyes huge with tears, a hectic flush on freckled cheekbones. She looked how she felt- lost. 

Enough! Ben needed her now more than ever. She was his padawan first and foremost. She wouldn’t be distracted by an immature crush. 

Rey rinsed her face and brushed her hair, tidying up her three buns. She couldn’t help but compare her darker chestnut locks to Phasma’s shimmering blonde. Her sun baked caramel skin to Phasma’s pale porcelain. Her muddy green eyes to Phasma’s clear blue. Her small, slight frame to Phasma voluptuous curves. She was nothing like the other woman with her frills and flouncy dresses.

Master Solo’s face flickered to the forefront of her mind. Of everything she’d learnt from him in the last several months, Rey wished most of all that she knew what Ben preferred in a female.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know, in Canon…  
> \- Ripper-raptors are a species of flying reptile native to Jakku.  
> \- Blob candy is made on Umgul and consists of carbosyrup, fruit and light additives.  
> \- Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi was a member of the Jedi High Council and killed when Order 66 was executed on Emperor Palpatine’s instructions.  
> \- Jedi Master Luminara Unduli tells Ahsoka Tano that she viewed her own master as a father figure to teach the young female a lesson. Anakin Skywalker had been hurt and Ahsoka was struggling to make the right choices because she was worried about him.


	3. In My Heart

As it turned out, Phasma wasn’t a complete moof-milker. Rey discovered this to her own keen disappointment.

After the blonde’s rather heavy handed opening salvo, she returned to the study in the evening smelling completely different. She exuded a faint and rather pleasant fragrance of aura blossoms. Phasma also carried another present for Master Solo. 

“What is it?” Ben asked, holding the package as if he expected it to explode.

“You’ll have to open it,” Phasma simpered.

After a pause- had he reached out with his Jedi senses to probe the gift, Rey wondered?- Ben tore off shiny purple paper to reveal a small toy krayt dragon made of sparkling golden metal. He looked intrigued.

“Here, hold it away from you like this,” Phasma said, coming closer to Ben than seemed quite necessary and placing her delicate, magenta-nailed hands over his long, ink-stained fingers. “Now press this little button.”

The toy dragon came to life, arching its elongated spine, its exquisitely crafted scales rippling and shimmering. Then the creature opened its jaws and let out a tiny roar accompanied by a jet of blue flame.

“How ingenious!” Ben exclaimed, pressing the little button again and imitating the dragon’s hoarse squeaky cry as another flame shot out.

The monkey-lizards, who had poked their heads out from under various pieces of furniture when they heard the small roar, dove back under cover when they saw the flame. Salacious hissed from his spot beside the fireplace.

“It’s made of aurodium,” Phasma murmured as if that was a small detail.

Both Ben and Rey stared at her. 

“It must be incredibly expensive, Phasma. I couldn’t possibly accept…”

Rey watched as those glossy purple fingernails came to rest on Master Solo’s broad chest, bringing his protestations to an end. As usual Ben wore his black Jedi robes, but Rey had a sudden image of him shirtless with Phasma wrapped around him. She clenched her hands into fists and told herself now was not the time to Force choke a witch from Dathomir. 

“I had it fashioned especially for you, Ben,” she cooed.

Ben blinked, and finally said, “Thank you.” Her master being who he was, however, his attention promptly returned to the tiny creature. “How does it work?”

Phasma shrugged and Rey questioned the veracity of her words. Had it made especially, her patootie. Plasma had probably stumbled across the thing in some salvage shop and requisitioned it for a time when she needed to beguile erudite and absent-minded Jedi masters. As Ben roamed around his work room, lighting candles and incinerating unwanted odds and end, Rey had to admit the infernal woman had found him the perfect gift.

Phasma watched smiling until she clearly lost patience and begged him to take the seat next to hers. He did so with a preoccupied manner, peering intently at his new toy, managing to singe quite a bit of his hair trying to peer down the krayt dragon’s throat while it was flaming. Phasma didn’t seem to enjoy this turn of events nearly as much. She kept grabbing at Ben’s elbows and imploring him to be careful, which Rey knew had irritated him when he nudged his chair further away from hers. 

Now that she was sure Master Solo had no intention of allowing those perfectly manicured fingers to roam anywhere else on his person, Rey surreptitiously grabbed an old blanket as an emergency fire extinguisher and watched his investigations with silent interest.

“Master Skywalker should see this,” Ben finally declared.

He trotted off with an anxious Phasma trailing behind him. Rey followed at a more leisurely pace.

The toy krayt dragon was an enormous hit with everybody who saw it. At least until it ran out of flame an hour later, during a mock battle with some of Master Plo Koon’s yearling glottalphibs. The little reptiles were also able to breathe fire and had scales so tough they could withstand a blaster shot. Phasma genuinely didn’t know how her gift worked or how to fix it, which made Rey hope rather uncharitably that it cancelled out whatever goodwill the witch had gained by bringing such an entertaining present in the first place.

“That’s no problem,” Ben said, holding the toy krayt dragon to his ear and shaking it. “I’ll just take it apart and see what’s wrong with it.”

He marched off to his study. Phasma, to Rey’s satisfaction, retired to her room with a headache.

“Well,” murmured Master Skywalker, “so much for the poor little dragon.”

Ben’s complete lack of mechanical ability was legendary and, like Rey, Luke had clearly decided the toy owed its charms to more prosaic forces than magic.

Rey grinned as she turned to leave, but then stopped as the next words caught her ear.

“It’s a foolish distraction, that’s what it is,” a gruff voice complained. 

That tone could only belong to one Jedi. Master Even Piell was scowling at Master Skywalker, his long, drooping ears even more lugubrious than usual. 

“Sometimes in life we need a little distraction,” Luke said pleasantly.

“That gizmo is no better than the she-witch who brought it. You mark my words, it’ll lead to trouble having her here. Especially the way she’s hanging around that young whippersnapper.”

“Whippersnapper?” Luke repeated.

“I mean Solo, of course!”

“He’s nearly thirty and a Jedi Master,” Luke said coolly.

“Too young to be trusted around a woman like that,” Even snapped. “It’s bad enough inviting every Force dabbler to this infernal conference of yours- did you have to invite the employees of the flesh palaces as well?”

There was nasty silence. 

Rey’s heart thudded painfully inside her chest as Master Piell’s words sank in. She suddenly wished Ben was still there. As head of the Jedi order, Master Skywalker had to remain civil, but Ben was known to blast an opponent with as much firepower as a krayt dragon when the occasion called for it. 

This was one of the many prejudices held by Master Piell, laid out in the open. He blamed the human Jedi knights for the downfall of the order. After all, it was a human that had betrayed them and brought about the rule of Emperor Sheev Palpatine. If possible, Master Piell was even more disapproving of human women. Loose morals or some such. 

“I’ll thank you to be civil to the witches should you meet them at dinner tonight,” Luke said with more anger in his voice than Rey had ever heard. “Or you can remain in your office and sulk for all I care.”

“When I’m running this place—” Even began.

“If you succeed in replacing me, you can run the academy as you wish, but until then I’m in charge!”

Master Piell snorted and stormed out. Rey, too startled to hide, stood looking after him with her mouth open. Behind her, she heard Master Skywalker swear rather impressively in Huttese and she tiptoed away. 

Was there a real chance that Even would become the new head of the Jedi order? If that happened, Rey realised, it would be the end of her studies. Even considered human women too weak and emotional to be trained as Jedi. He’d be even more unforgiving of one who’d come to the knowledge as late as she had. 

Master Piell barely approved of the human males. If Master Skywalker hadn’t brought down the Galactic Empire by reforming Darth Vader and defeating Emperor Palpatine, and if Master Solo wasn’t singlehandedly rewriting the Jedi syllabus through his research, she suspected even the men would be given short shrift.

Back in her room, Rey attempted to study but no matter how hard she tried to focus on the pages of her book she kept being distracted. At first all she saw was Ben’s intense face with his prominent cheekbones and disturbingly plush mouth. When it was joined by Phasma’s bright eyes and rouged lips she decided she’d had enough. 

She slammed shut her book and headed back to Master Solo’s study. Ben didn’t care about the condition of his rooms, but Rey had taken it upon herself to keep them nominally tidy. On days when she was unhappy or restless, as she was then, pottering around and cleaning made her feel better.

She recalled Finn’s words with a pang. Did it only make her feel better because she was doing something for Ben? She hoped not, though there was probably truth in that as well. 

The first thing she saw when she walked into the study was the table littered with golden pieces of mechanical krayt dragon. Rey stared down at the mess, feeling both a fierce satisfaction that Phasma’s wonderful gift was no more and also a curious sadness. After all, it wasn’t the little dragon’s fault that Phasma had brought him. 

Rey knew the pieces would stay there, eventually mingling with all the other clutter on the worktable. Ben would use the flat pieces as bookmarks, and the Loth-cat or the monkey-lizards would play with the others, and eventually there would be nothing left of the ingenious little device. 

On an impulse, Rey gathered up the discarded components of the krayt dragon and put them aside. Hopefully it could be fixed. As if that act was a switch, she suddenly felt exhausted and headed off to bed.

“Rey, we need to talk about yesterday,” Finn was saying as he chased her down a corridor the next morning.

“Shh!” she shushed him.

Her roommate Bariss Offee was staring curiously after them. Bariss was one of the many Mirialan females that had come to be trained at Luke’s temple and she had a habit of disapproving of Finn’s casual nature. Bariss was the opposite of Finn, a studious and sombre young padawan learner. Rey didn’t mind her- in some ways she was peaceful to have around. Still, Rey could only imagine Bariss’ reaction if she realised Rey had fallen in love with Master Solo.

Wait—what? Love? Who’d said anything about love?

The Force take it, was she in love? No, no, no…

“Rey, are you okay?” Finn asked, his expression careful.

She realised her panicked feelings were being reflected on her face. Damn Finn and his insightfulness. She could have happily gone the rest of her lifetime unaware that she’d developed messy feelings for Ben Solo.

After breakfast and morning meditation, Rey made her way to Master Solo’s study, for once wishing she’d been assigned another Jedi teacher. She walked in to find Phasma already there, in yet another expensive and revealing gown. Rey was relieved to see that at least she hadn’t brought any presents.

On his part, Master Solo was ignoring his guest. He was busy with some new Force-imbued chemical experiment and spoke to Phasma with absentminded politeness. What concerned Rey was that Phasma didn’t seem to mind. That had to mean she was up to something.

Rey sat down to continue transcribing a scroll Ben had given her and an hour later he sent her to get mid-morning tea. 

“And some more Nevarro nummies, if chef has any,” he said, glancing at a large glass cookie jar that was empty except for a few crumbs. 

Rey was reluctant to leave Ben alone with Phasma, but at least it meant she got to see Rose.

Rose Tico was head chef at the Jedi Temple, in charge of a bustling kitchen that included a handful of sentients and at least twice the number of droids. Rey manoeuvred her way around slabs of Bantha meat, hissing ovens and bubbling pots to get to the brunette. 

Rey met Rose in her first week at the academy, when Rose decided to investigate who it was that had cleaned out all the food trays for once. The two women clicked and Rose began slipping her extra goodies. After sweating and scraping to earn her keep on Jakku, it was hard for Rey to believe that she was free to eat and drink and learn without consequence.

Rose was dispensing instructions while waving a spatula at a silver droid when Rey tapped her on the shoulder. They exchanged pleasantries before Rey told the young chef what she needed. 

“As if I’d run out of Master Solo’s nummies,” Rose laughed. “I think he likes them as much now as when he was a youngling.”

“You knew Master Solo when he was a youngling?” Rey asked in surprise. Rose was not much older than Ben.

“My sister Paige was apprenticed to the chef back then and I used to tag along when she went to work,” Rose explained. “I loved baking so they let me help out. Ben Solo used to be all rumpled black hair and sticky out ears when he was little.” Rose led Rey into the pantry and began filling a bowl with bright blue cookies. “From what I hear, he was always in trouble. Smarter than everyone around him, but that caused its own set of problems. Some things never change, do they?”

Rey smiled, wishing she’d known Ben when he was a shock haired terror, but just as suddenly Rose’s face fell.

“Everything’s changing,” she said in an undertone. “I don’t know what we’ll do if they make Master Piell headmaster. His anti-human prejudices could tear the school apart.”

Rey stared at Rose, unsure if the other woman was being observant or simply fear mongering. “I’m sure everything will be alright,” she said, rather lamely to her own ears.

Rose shook her head as if to clear it. “Sorry, Rey, I don’t mean to be so doom and gloom. It’s been strange in the Temple these last couple of days- all these visitors and newcomers. Almost every Force wielder seems to have brought with them their own personal droid or servant.”

Rose pushed the bowl of cookies into Rey’s hands and hurried back to the kitchen’s epicentre. Rey followed more slowly, looking around as she did. Rose might not be Jedi, but she was very perceptive.

As Rose had said, there were several sentient beings in the kitchen Rey didn’t recognise. There was a young male Quermian turning a huge spit of unrecognisable meat, probably his master’s favourite. Three pink and orange skinned Twi’lek females were peeling vegetables. There was a plump old crone bent over folds of cloth, no doubt doing some mage’s laundry. The blue-skinned Togruta male loading up a tray with tea brought Rey back to her own errand.

Rose’s concerns were probably just the strain of the conference, Rey told herself. Then why was it she felt worried too?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know, in Canon…  
> \- Aura blossoms are indigo bioluminescent flowers found on the Forest Moon of Endor, favoured by the Ewoks.  
> \- Aurodium is a yellow coloured metal rarer than gold, which can also be found in the form of blue crystals. In some places, it is used as currency.  
> \- Krayt dragons are giant carnivorous reptiles from Tatooine, hunted for the precious pearls contained in their body.  
> \- Plo Koon was a male Kel Dor Jedi master who first discovered Ahsoka Tano when she was just three years old.  
> \- Glottalphibs are a sentient reptilian species that evolved on the planet Glottal and are amphibious in nature. Lando Calrissian became embroiled with a Glottalphib who was a crime lord and had to be rescued by Han Solo.  
> \- Nevarro cookies or Nevarro Nummies are bright blue cookies seen eaten by a child in a classroom on Nevarro. In an episode of the Mandalorian, Grogu steals the cookies using the Force.


	4. I Come Near Her

Back at the study, Rey was pleased to see that Phasma was having an uphill battle gaining Ben’s attention.

Although he roused himself long enough to devour much of the Nevarro nummies, he quickly returned to his books and experiments. Phasma eventually gave up trying to talk to him and merely hung about, no doubt waiting for his preoccupation with his experiments to wane. She amused herself by folding little bits of paper into different animals.

Rey watched with reluctant fascination as the pieces of paper in Phasma’s manicured hands were transformed into birds, fish and woodland creatures. She even folded up one that looked like an Ewok.

“What do you think of this one, Ben?” she would ask when she had finished another creature.

“Mmm,” Ben would reply, barely glancing up.

“Paper folding is a craft found on the planet Glee Anselm and practiced by native Nautolans,” Phasma said, noticing Rey’s attention. She was clearly torn between being annoyed at Ben’s continued preoccupation with anything but her and pleased that someone, at least, was paying attention.

Ben finally gave up messing with his latest experiment in time for lunch. Rey bit her lip as she watched them leave together, Phasma half running to keep up with Ben’s lanky strides, hanging off his arm as she chattered breathlessly.

Ugh. Rey thought she might be sick, except she was too hungry for that. She cleared a place on the study table and unfolded the clean cloth that held her Shawda club sandwich from the kitchen. Good ol’ Rose, she’d even given her an extra piece of nerf cheese. She sat down to eat while paging through a text Master Solo had assigned her that week. With Phasma gone, the monkey-lizards emerged and began scouring the floor for crumbs.

Rey’s eyes fell on a paper bird, standing next to her meal with its head down as if pecking the desk. She eyed the little thing with distaste, though she was honest enough to acknowledge that just like the krayt dragon, it was something she would have enjoyed but for its association with Phasma. It only reminded her that the sensual blonde witch was currently pawing at Ben while he attempted to eat lunch. 

She would throw it in the fire, Rey decided, and reached over to pick up the bird. When her fingers touched the paper, however, she felt a small spark and then an overwhelming flood of sensation. 

Rey jerked her hand back. It was as if the whole room had tilted on an axis. She took a deep breath to steady herself. There was a spell of some sort on the paper bird, that was clear. It hadn’t harmed her, but then what was its reason for being? She touched her face and realised her cheeks were flushed. 

It seemed the purpose of Phasma’s magic was to trigger a rush of sensations in the mind of its target. Like a dream that slips away when one awakes, Rey was unable to define the feelings that brushed against her skin. She had a vague impression of fingers, touching her in places with feather light strokes… sensitive places. A feeling of languid heat. A suggestion of a pair of eyes gazing into hers. It wasn’t unpleasant, not at all. Merely unsettling. Except the whole thing was associated with Phasma and that was unpleasant. Were those Phasma’s fingers she had imagined? Unpleasant became downright offensive. 

Rey steeled herself and touched the little bird again. It was only paper. Apparently, she had triggered a one time spell. She flicked the paper bird into the fire, narrowly missing the top of Salacious’ head, causing the Loth-cat to give a sleepy growl.

A love spell, Rey realised, or more likely an aphrodisiac, doubtless intended for Master Solo. And carelessly designed- the spell had affected her even though she was the wrong person. But if Ben had picked up the little paper bird…

Rey jumped to her feet with a surge of anger. How dare that woman mess with a man as accomplished and important as Master Solo? Everyone knew he was the future of the Jedi order. Rey tried to ignore the other, more proprietary emotion than enveloped her. As Finn had said in their illuminating conversation, Master Solo was _her_ man. 

She looked around the study and saw half a dozen of the little folded paper animals in different corners of the room. She wasn’t going to let her master touch a single one, she decided, reaching for the nearest critter.

The little spark prickled her skin again, and then came the brief but intense flood of sensations. Rey found herself frozen, staring down at the paper cat on her callused palm. This time she’d been thinking about Ben as she touched the animal. It was an entirely different proposition. Much less unpleasant but much more unsettling.

By the time Rey had thrown every paper animal into the fire, she was flushed and unsteady on her feet. Her heart throbbed as if it had swelled inside her chest, her cheeks red and her skin hot to touch. What was most disconcerting was that she’d flooded her undergarments with a clear, sticky nectar. The junction of her thighs ached in such a way that was both enjoyable and distracting.

Rey curled up in Ben’s favourite chair, thinking. She laid her head against the worn leather of the seat and was able to smell him, a combination of books and ink, sweet berries and smoked wood. 

She was desperately naïve when it came to matters of the heart and, in relation to that, the act of copulation. Sex was something that had occurred around her when she was in Jakku, but she’d been left alone in favour of more attractive prey. It was the Twi’lek girls who bore the brunt of male attention. Rey never minded, it was easier that way. Besides, she had been a child and completely uninterested in such things.

But now she was eighteen, a woman for all intents and purposes, still unaware why that secret part of her felt so poignantly good when she pressed her slim thighs together. 

Taking a breath, Rey loosened the ties of her britches. She licked the tips of her fingers and slid her hand down the front, under her knickers, finding the wet, aching slot that was begging for attention. She whimpered as she stroked slick skin, tensed as she burrowed her fingers deeper inside. She thrust as deep as she could manage, chewing her lower lip as she did so.

She felt sleek and moist, warm and soft, the muscles there taut but pliant. She imagined it was Master Solo’s hand touching her instead of her own and whined as her quim clenched down on her fingers, gushing more sticky juice. Rey closed her eyes and thought of Ben. Ben holding her close, Ben petting her plump mound, Ben fingering her wet pink portal.

Her blunt nails glided across a tiny bump at the top of shiny wet folds and Rey let out a squeak. That. Oh, oh, what was that? Ben rubbing her slit with steady friction, Ben watching her with tender amber eyes, Ben circling that hard little nub with his thumb and making her… 

Rey climaxed with a moan composed of Ben’s name, a sound so desperate and wanton she grew quickly embarrassed even though there was no one in the study to bear witness apart from the wildlife. She knotted her britches and washed her hands, her legs still shaky from the experience. 

Already, her skin simmered, begging her to do it again. Except she didn’t want to, not that way. Now that she had… finished, she felt empty on the inside. As if she was missing something.

Ben. She was missing Ben. 

But it could never be. He was her master and she his padawan. Besides, Ben had never shown interest in anyone, much less her. Finn wasn’t wrong when he said plenty of females threw themselves at Master Solo. Apart from his intelligence and brooding good looks, he was also the son of Chancellor Leia Organa Solo, the nephew of Grand Master Luke Skywalker himself. It attracted a lot of attention. 

The sound of the bells ringing to signal dinner startled her. How long had she been in the study mooning over Ben? She was fortunate he hadn’t returned and caught her touching herself in his chair. Rey’s face flamed as she straightened her tunic and left for the dining hall. This was all Phasma’s fault, really. If that odious woman had more scruples, Rey’s body wouldn’t be buzzing like a malfunctioning droid and her mind wouldn’t be full of Master Solo. 

What she’d give to be full of Master Solo.

“What’s wrong with you now?”

Rey was startled out of her daydream by Finn’s voice. “Nothing,” she snapped, with so much vehemence that he backed off, eyebrows raised.

They walked into the dining hall together. Normally the inhabitants of the temple could all fit in one end of the cavernous room, with plenty of space in the corners for padawans cramming for classes to lurk quietly with their books. Now, however, the conference crowd had filled the hall to overflowing. 

Rey and Finn found a seat at a corner table stuck up in the gallery. They shared the table with a trio of taciturn Iridonian apprentices who seemed more than half-convinced she was a kitchen maid sneaking into the banquet. Midway through the arrival of platters of steaming baked cushnip and fral, Finn gave a cheerful shout and waved over a friend.

“What are you doing here, Poe?” he asked happily.

The two men embraced briefly before Poe sat on Finn’s other side, the Iridonians giving them plenty of room.

“Howzit, Rey,” Poe said, acknowledging her presence as well. 

The New Republic fighter pilot was typical of his kind- alpha, brash and confidant. He looked good in his official uniform and had brushed his usually tousled mahogany curls until they shone. 

“The Chancellor decided it would be a good idea for New Republic government reps to attend a lecture or two,” Poe said, happily digging into the food while he answered Finn’s question. “To show our support and all that.”

Rey nodded abstractedly as the two men continued to chat. She’d led Finn to the gallery on purpose since it gave her an unimpeded view of the scene below. She had an excellent view of the main table, and by dint of tuning in with the Force was able to catch snippets of conversation.

Most of the occupants of the head table were elderly, even the two human women seated at one end. Rey assumed they were senior members of the Nightsisters, Phasma’s delegation. Master Solo’s dark head and unlined face stood out amongst the crowd. 

As did Phasma’s hot pink dress among the other Force-wielder’s black, brown and grey robes. Not that Phasma was officially seated at the high table. Shortly after dinner began, she had flitted up the dais and perched on the arm of the chair next to Ben. The aged Togruta Jedi who was supposed to be occupying said chair had drawn himself as far away from Phasma’s curvaceous figure as possible and appeared to be making a desperate attempt to pretend she wasn’t there. 

In fact, everyone was deliberately ignoring Phasma except Ben, who acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Rey couldn’t hold back a grin. In his mind he was probably doing exactly as Master Skywalker had asked of him which was to be hospitable.

Master Even Piell was seated at the other end of the table as far away as possible from the two elderly witches. He was the only one other than Ben who wasn’t ignoring Phasma. He spent all his time glaring at the blonde and barely ate.

“No business being here,” Rey heard him mutter during a lull in the conversation.

“What’s old Thunder Brows so upset about?” Poe asked around a mouthful of food.

“He disapproves of the conference,” Finn told him.

“Why?”

“Brings in the riffraff,” Finn replied. “He thinks rebuilding the Jedi order should be done in isolation, not with the assistance of all sorts of Force-using sects and cults.”

The Iridonians overheard Finn and snorted derisively.

“He doesn’t like women in the Temple either,” Rey said, speaking up. “Human males are bad enough, after all Anakin Skywalker singlehandedly conspired to destroy the order by going over to the Dark Side, but human females are too emotional to be of any use.”

“Stupid old fogy,” Poe said comfortably. “Is that why he’s agitating for Luke’s position?”

It wasn’t just academy gossip, Rey realised with a sinking heart. Everyone had heard about the possibility that Master Piell might take over as head of the Jedi Council. She smothered a trickle of panic. 

Rey stared down at Master Piell, munching away steadily while continuing to frown at Phasma. Despite her own irritation with the blonde witch, a wave of anger swept over Rey and she fought hard to keep from wishing him harm. 

Suddenly, Master Piell stopped chewing and looked straight up at Rey. She quickly dropped her eyes and tried to think of nothing but the food. Every bite seemed drier than the last and she wished she had stayed in her own room, eating bread and cheese.

After a while she took a quick look and realised something else, that maybe Master Piell was wishing the same thing himself. He was sniffing at a bowl of sliced fruit as if expecting it to be poisoned. Evidently Master Piell knew how little he was liked.

Well, what did he expect? He was known to launch into hectoring speeches against more than half the sentient beings in attendance.

Finally, the banquet came to an end. A server droid rolled over and placed one last item on their table- a tray piled high with steaming hot linen towels. Down at the head table, two droids were circulating with fancier versions of the same, each towel elaborately folded into flower shapes. Pretty, but probably not able to retain heat as well as their simple stack, Rey thought as she buried her face in the comforting warmth of her towel. One of the Iridonians began cleaning his horns.

All of a sudden, there came the sound of a commotion. Rey pulled away her towel and glanced down at the head table. Master Even Piell was on his feet, his already wrinkled beige face even more contorted, his long ears at attention.

“Disgraceful!” he shouted, gripping his flower folded towel in clawed hands. 

Did he have something against cleanliness? Apparently not, because he was staring down the table at Master Skywalker. 

“I won’t stand for it,” Master Piell said. He began shaking a finger in Luke’s direction and his towel unfolded. “If you won’t take action then I will—”

No one ever found out what he would do. Even froze, one hand on a towel, his other hand still pointed in Luke’s direction. And then he imploded with a noise like a clap of thunder and a flash of light so bright Rey was temporarily blinded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know, in Canon…  
> \- Paper-folding was practiced by Ojo, a male Nautolan, in his cell on the Black Sun base. Ojo went on to befriend the Mandalorian Sabine Wren.


	5. I Lose My Nerve

Rey launched into action.

Before the purple afterimages of the implosion had cleared from her eyes, she was up and running for Master Solo’s study, ignoring Finn’s shout of surprise. She dove into Ben's room, scaring the Kowakian monkey-lizards who were draped inelegantly across every available surface, and found the leather case he used for his more chemical based research. 

She knew Ben- he would want to investigate the strange happenings. And while he wouldn’t necessarily need the case- he was fond of saying true Jedi only required their connection to the Force to make their way in the world, even though he’d then turn around and tinker in his work room until he created an exploding purple mushroom cloud from the roots of a sanctuary tree- carrying the case allowed Rey to make her way to Master Solo’s side unchallenged. 

In her absence, the hall had become a beehive of Force activity. The masters and mages were holding individual and group sessions to locate Master Piell’s essence, of which there seemed to be none. There were a couple of astrologers in the mix and they had pointed their scopes at the sky and were scribbling down diagrams. The two elderly witches were muttering to one another while throwing powders into a small brazier, sending up puffs of strange smelling smoke. It seemed they were clearing the air of bad karma. Rey had heard of Dark Force users leaving behind pockets of intense energy, so maybe it was necessary. 

Master Solo, in the meantime, had muttered instructions to his golden communications droid C-3PO who was bumbling about, seizing every bit of food and drink at the head table and sweeping it all into a big basket. Rey knew Ben would test the scraps that were found for poison, which was a far better use of talent than she had so far seen. Luke’s blue and white astromech droid R2-D2 was also busy gathering up linen towels. While this seemed sensible, she wasn’t sure how much could be learnt from damp cloth.

“Good work,” Ben said when she appeared at his side with the case. “I don’t need it yet but keep it handy.”

Rey turned bright pink at his words and realised in horror that Phasma’s magics were still working. She turned her head away from Ben, tall and dark, and instead watched Threepio walk jerkily away with a basket of food scraps, Artoo not far behind him with his bowl of napkins. 

“Surely with so many Jedi masters and Force users around, they’ll figure out what happened soon,” Rey said, trying to sound casual.

“Not likely,” Ben frowned. “There’s so much Force manipulation going on in this room I fear it will only confuse the issue. Odds are the attack was a supernatural one, but any trace residue it may leave behind will be lost in this chaos. Before dinner, the Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance was demonstrating how to reach a higher plane of Force meditation in this very hall.”

Rey glanced at the vermillion-cowled masters in a desperate attempt not to fixate on Ben… his smell, his warmth, the way his shoulders always seemed too broad for standard Jedi robes… 

Kriff, she was about to melt into a puddle of need. It was a good thing Master Solo was preoccupied with his own thoughts.

“Even if all the evidence didn’t go up in smoke with Master Piell, good luck separating traces of the crime from other indications of Force usage- and that’s before the New Republic police detectives begin cluttering up the place with their efforts.”

As if on cue, blue uniformed police officers trailed by floating silver droids filed into the hall. One of them headed straight for Luke.

This was distraction enough for Rey to say, “They may not be happy that Threepio and Artoo have carted off all the evidence.”

“Mmm,” Ben agreed. “I’ve instructed the droids to keep samples of everything for me, and the rest will be presented to our esteemed New Republic colleagues on a silver platter.”

Rey couldn’t help herself- she was so giddy standing next to Ben that she let out an involuntary snort of laughter at this statement. It was so typical of him to be two steps ahead. 

He looked at her in surprise and her cheeks darkened from pink to red.

“You don’t laugh very often, Rey,” he said.

Those amber eyes were focused entirely on her and his gently spoken observation was enough to make Rey squirm where she stood. The junction of her thighs was once more weeping to be noticed.

“I—I…”

But Master Solo had already turned back to the problem at hand. 

“We don’t even know for sure if the murderer used the Force or some other magical equivalent. It may have been poison or an invisible knife in the ribs. All that’s disappeared now with Master Piell.”

“You’ve got to admire the killer’s nerve,” Master Skywalker said, walking up to them. 

Rey was both relieved and annoyed by this interruption. After all, Ben had been talking to _her_. 

“And their skill,” Ben added. “Whoever did this knew they would be surrounded by a legion of Force-wielders, all of whom would take it upon themselves to find out the truth. But look at this mess!” 

Rey tried to turn her thoughts from the deep tones of Master Solo’s voice to the situation at hand. Most of the Temple’s Jedi masters had left the hall, clearly having come to a similar conclusion that there was too much noise and activity for them to be of much use. The police droids were floating around asking questions of various delegates and struggling to get answers since some of the groups in attendance were notoriously closed off. All the Nightsisters had disappeared, Phasma included.

“I fear we won’t resolve anything here,” Ben muttered darkly.

“Surely you don’t think the matter is unsolvable,” Luke exclaimed. 

Rey realised Master Skywalker’s blue eyes had lost its twinkle, his face drawn. It occurred to her that he was likely the chief suspect in Master Piell’s death. Ben must have realised that as well.

“We’ll work it out, Uncle Luke,” he said, patting the older man on the arm. “All I meant was it’ll take facts to get to the bottom of things. Let’s go back to the study, Rey. You had a front row seat up in the gallery, didn’t you?”

Rey stared. She hadn’t realised Master Solo had noticed where she was seated. 

They left the hall side by side, her heart fluttering like a frightened bird trapped in her chest. That damnable Phasma- she’d ruined everything with her wicked little spell. But if Rey was being honest, it was Finn exposing her own deep-seated feelings for Master Solo that had begun this unwelcome adventure. 

Rey took a deep breath before she followed Ben into his study. She needed to get a hold of herself. There was too much at stake here for her to give in to her emotions at such an inappropriate time. Ironically, it was exactly the kind of thing Master Piell would expect from a human female. No self-control.

She stoked the fire before hurrying to take a stool across the table from Ben. Except he wasn’t in his seat, but rather standing watching her. He came close and cupped one side of her face with his hand.

“Rey…” he said, amber eyes tender, “what’s wrong?”

“What?” she squeaked.

Her whole body burst into flames at his touch, her knees turning to jelly, her palms sweating and her nipples tight. 

He pressed his lips to her forehead and she about died, but he was only testing her temperature. “Your cheeks are flushed and you feel warm. Are you coming down with something? Perhaps you should go to bed.”

The idea of bed in conjunction with this man was more than Rey could take. “No!” she exclaimed, and immediately tried to soften her tone when he frowned. “No, I’m fine. I want to help. I just…”

“Yes?”

Rey wished Ben would stop touching her, except she also wanted him to touch her forever.

“Master Piell…” Rey said, opting for a subject that would make sense when it came to her discomfiture. “He was against women attending the academy.”

“Men too,” Ben said, dropping his hand at last, both to her relief and disappointment. “His anti-human sentiments were fairly well known.”

“Yes, but had he become head of the Jedi Council, you’d have kept your position while I would have been asked to leave. I mean, he already disapproved that I was such a late entrant to the school, almost fifteen when I started.”

Ben gripped her cold, sweaty fingers in his warm, dry ones. “Rey, were you afraid of losing your place at the Temple?”

He was touching her again. Oh, why was he touching her again?

“Maybe,” she said, her eyes focused on the floor, unable to bare his searching gaze. 

“I didn’t realise you were worried, sweetheart. Though you do bring up a good point. Luke was far from the only one impacted by Even’s attitudes.”

But all she’d heard was the endearment. He’d called her sweetheart. No one had ever done that before. Ben’s father, Han, referred to her as ‘kid’, which she thought was special until she realised he also called Luke by that moniker, as well as anyone a decade or more younger than him.

“Hey,” Ben let go of her hands and cupped her face, tilting her chin upwards so her clear hazel eyes were looking into his own once more, “I’d never let anything happen to you, Rey.”

She blinked and a single tear caught on her eyelash. Her emotions were wildly out of control and she wasn’t sure it was entirely Phasma’s fault.

“I wish I could believe you, Ben,” she said, her voice low. Her mind screeched that it was the first time she’d called him by name, but he hadn’t flinched. 

“Of course, you can,” he said, sounding a trifle miffed.

She shook her head, but he refused to move away from her, hands now resting on her shoulders. 

“All my life I’ve been alone. It’s hard to believe that’s changed even in a place like this.” He stared at her and she flushed. She kept talking to fill the silence. “It’s easier if I don’t depend on anyone else. That way I won’t be disappointed.”

“It’s a lonely way to live,” he murmured.

More tears filled her eyes and Rey wished she could implode just like Master Piell had done. This was humiliating. Now Ben would see she was nothing more than an insecure little girl, unwanted and unloved. 

But it was his turn to speak. 

“Rey, when all we see is our own perspective, it’s hard to realise there are other factors at play.”

She stiffened, wondering if he was criticizing her. “What do you mean?”

Ben sighed, his big hands sliding down her arms and settling on her hips. “When I was younger, I began to believe my grandfather’s legacy was my own, that I had no choice but to turn to the Dark Side of the Force.”

Rey’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “What- what did you do?”

He shrugged, giving her a lopsided smile. “I acted out, calling myself Kylo Ren so no one knew I was linked to the Skywalker dynasty and befriending the most reactionary of my fellow classmates. And then I realised I was so focused on my own point of view that I’d turned Master Luke and my parents into caricatures of who they were. They’re real people, after all, struggling to make the right choices every day. I was lucky I had a family to call my own.”

Rey gave him a wounded look. “My family rejected me, Ben. My earliest memory is watching my parent’s ship take off and leave me behind.”

Ben took another step towards her and suddenly his arms were wrapped around Rey, holding her close. “Sweetheart, if you don’t let go of your past, you’ll never see your future.”

She couldn’t breathe, so close to him she could feel the warmth of his body under his robes. “My- my future?”

“There are those of us who care about you already, Rey, if you’ll only open your eyes…”

She threw her arms around his neck and stretched up on tiptoes, pressing her lips to his in a chaste kiss, pouring all her need and desire into that one act. His mouth was soft and warm and he smelled like smoke and spice. Rey was pretty pleased with herself until Ben responded. His hands slid strong around her neck and back, and he tilted his head so his stubbled cheek rasped against her soft one. She gasped, her lips parting innocently, and he slipped his tongue inside, tasting her like a gourmand might savour a priceless delicacy from Canto Bight. 

Rey shuddered in Ben’s embrace. The feel of his tongue licking inside her mouth was almost illicit, making little fireworks of sensation explode in her brain, far outdoing the manufactured version transferred to her skin by Phasma’s paper animals. This was so much better, she thought, as his tongue found her own and they tangled and stroked and danced. So. Kriffing. Good.

A tiny moan escaped her lips several long, sticky minutes later and the abandoned desire in that sound brought Rey back to herself. What was she doing? What were _they_ doing? This was wrong. Was this wrong? She didn’t even know. It certainly wasn’t appropriate…

Ben lifted his head, breaking the kiss, and she mewled like Salacious when he was a bedraggled kitten.

“Ben…”

“Do you want to stop?” he asked.

She stared up at him, her limbs like rubber and her mind whirling. He was asking her permission to… what? Continue? What did that even mean? What could they do that was better than this? The thought of sinking into Master Solo’s chair while they kept kissing was more appealing than any revenge fantasies of bankrupting her old boss Unkar Plutt. 

“Rey?”

Ben was looking at her with a curious light in his amber eyes and she knew she stood at a crossroads. What was wrong with her? Phasma wouldn’t hesitate had she been the one in this situation.

“Please don’t stop,” she whispered, and his answering smile swelled her heart with so much joy she couldn’t bear it.

Rey was about to find out what came next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know, in Canon…  
> \- A sanctuary tree is a variety of flora found on the Forest Moon of Endor. Leia grew the plant in a pot from an acorn and used it in her Force meditations after this was suggested by Luke.  
> \- The Dark Side cave on Dagobah contained a powerful Dark Side manifestation of the Force.  
> \- The Brotherhood of the Beatific Countenance was a Force-based Lorrdian religion active during the Galactic Empire. The brothers covered themselves completely in vermilion robes and hoods to represent a physical vow of silence.  
> \- Canto Bight was a city on Cantonica, known to attract the very wealthy to its casinos and racetracks.


	6. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

“What happens now, Ben?” Rey asked, hazel eyes big in her little face.

It was as if her question triggered all the concerns that lay beneath their kiss. Ben was silent for so long she thought he wasn’t going to answer. 

“Kriff,” he groaned suddenly. “I know I asked whether you wanted to be with me, Rey, but I’m not sure it’s such a good idea.”

“Have you changed your mind?” She wanted to scream in frustration. 

“Of course not, sweetheart, but I want to be honorable. I am your Jedi master, after all.”

“I want to kiss you, Ben.” She touched her lips because just saying the words, just thinking about it, put the taste of him in her mouth.

Unexpectedly, he smiled. “A Jedi with honour might still kiss his female.”

“Why don’t you show me?” Her heart was fluttering but she wasn’t sure if it was in anticipation or nerves. She didn’t want to push him too far too fast.

As if she could- when it came to experience she was a little mouse beside his stalking cat. He said he was being careful with her because she was his padawan, but maybe it was more than that. He knew her story, her past. Perhaps he thought she was fragile… or already broken.

Rey walked up to Ben, nearly trembling with her own audacity. Her fingers crept to his shoulders, sliding higher under his thick silk hair to the nape of his neck, feather light caresses against bare skin. He responded so quickly she didn’t see him move. He gripped her chin, applying pressure so that her head was bent toward his. Then his mouth was on hers and she forgot all her doubts and questions. Desire swept through her and she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving herself up to the exquisite perfection of his mouth. His kiss.

He tasted… male, a spice she was becoming addicted to. She would follow his lips to the end of the world, needing more, feeding her hunger. The kiss went on and on until she was desperate for air, and then he breathed for her, the heat he poured into her threatening to burn her up from the inside.

Her body was no longer her own but belonged to him. Had he tried, he could have claimed her right there, against the hard edge of the desk. Ben was in control, lifting his head, resting his forehead against hers, breathing a steady rhythm she tried to follow.

“This is dangerous.”

His velvet whisper slid over her skin, stroked and caressed, adding to the terrible need, her body pulsing with demands.

There was nothing else to do but agree. She couldn’t kiss him again. That would lead to… more. More. She wanted more. So she leaned against him and kissed him again. She tilted her head just enough to suckle his bottom lip between her teeth, tugging. Then she swept her tongue into his mouth, imitating him, sliding along the inside of his mouth, wet velvet and heat, taking what she needed. His arm nearly crushed her to him, his other hand sliding under her tunic to touch bare flesh. His palm was like a brand, claiming proprietary right. She was his exclusively.

His mouth took over, just what she wanted- what she needed. The groan he gave, a mixture of hunger and dominance, sent her temperature soaring. The junction of her thighs grew damp, slick, her nipples tight, breasts aching. She was very aware of his hand, not even his kisses could distract her from his touch.

Long fingers stroked just under her left breast as he kissed her over and over. He pulled her into his chair so that she straddled him. Her heart jumped and her nerves flared but she was fine because there was nothing but the two of them, his heat and her hunger. It took forever before his fingers moved up over the plain camisole and stroked along the curve. 

Her breath caught in her throat, her sex clenching wet and hard. She squirmed, hips pressing into him, the apex of her legs finding his muscled thigh. The tension inside her coiled tighter. Her breasts felt swollen and needy, nipples pushing blatantly at the thin fabric. Then his fingers settled on her nipple and she heard herself cry out, the sound wrenched from her. He tugged and her hips bucked.

He would be the end of her- that was her one thought before sanity slipped away and she dropped her own hand, stroking him through his britches, reveling in the feel of him, so hard and hot, so thick and ready. She did not know how she dared. 

She desperately wanted to reach inside and explore, but that required her to remove her mouth from his which was impossible. His tongue was smooth, his mouth hot. Consuming and commanding. She sank further under his spell, a web closing in around her. She let it happen, wanting Ben more than anything.

His hand, callused from long hours of wielding a lightsaber, explored the swell of her breasts, the valley between, each nipple, tugging and rolling while she gasped and squirmed. Her sex throbbed and contracted. She curled her palm over his heavy erection while she instinctively rode his thigh, desperate for release.

Ben sighed into her mouth. He lifted his head as his fingers stroked her breast slowly, one last time. “We’ve got to stop.”

Rey was shocked into stillness. She tried to obey her Jedi master but her body felt limp, hot and needy. She closed her eyes, desperate for air, her quim weeping with desire. Gently, he lifted her off himself but her knees folded and she ended up on the carpet beside him. She couldn’t think clearly, her mind absolute chaos. All she wanted was to reach into his lap, unbutton his fly and touch him. 

“Sweetheart, don’t.”

It was said with a husky groan. He sounded as desperate for her as she felt for him. Almost.

“I’m not doing anything,” she whispered. To emphasize how good she was being, or perhaps to keep herself from behaving recklessly, she threaded her fingers together, locking them away until her knuckles turned white. 

“You look like you want to eat me.”

“I do.” Rey was past hiding her emotions. Already, Ben had taken her body higher than she ever thought it could go. She looked at his face, angular and unapologetically male. “I want to see your body, what you look like. I want to taste your skin, your sex. Will your manhood taste just as good as your mouth?” 

Rey watched in fascination as Ben’s erection grew even larger and he had to shift in his seat. Even though she was completely innocent she had always been intrigued by the mechanics of love making. Ben was the first male she wanted to be with, and in return she wanted him to explore her like a treasure hunter with a map.

“Don’t say such things,” he said, his deep voice even deeper. “I’m stopping for your sake, Rey.”

“You kiss me and set me on fire, and then you expect me to walk away?” She gave him a tiny smile, wanting him to know she wasn’t upset. Not really. Not while she was still beside him.

“You don’t want to push me, Rey. Even Jedi have their limits.”

Deliberately, she unraveled her coils of shiny chestnut hair. “Would you like it if I swallowed you down?” His cock jerked beneath the snug fabric of his britches and she couldn’t help a triumphant grin. She stroked her fingers over the hard length. She felt his heat right through the material and her quim tingled. “I want you so much.”

“Is that a promise?”

She loved the intensity of his voice. It had dropped to a growl, sending a shiver down her spine. Rey liked that she’d regained a measure of control in this alien situation. She’d never done anything so daring as she was contemplating now. A little voice was whispering to her, urging her on. 

“What if it is?” she asked.

“You’ll be in trouble if I lost control. We both will.” 

The look on his face was enough to make her damp mound quiver. She’d never seen anyone so darkly sensual. She couldn’t help herself, her fingers in his lap, undoing the buttons of his bulging fly. She worked slowly, watching his face the entire time. 

A muscle ticked in his jaw but he kept his hands clenched by his side. “Stop teasing, sweetheart.”

But she wasn’t teasing. She wanted her mouth on him. A part of her knew she was being reckless, but he made her crazy. She’d never met anyone so desirable, a male who made her believe sex was a pleasure she could choose.

Rey wet her lips and got between his knees. She pushed down his britches and he raised lean hips to help her, his only acknowledgement of her actions. His cock sprang free and her breath caught in her throat. He was beautiful. Intimidating. So big she wasn’t sure how much of him would fit into her mouth. Still, she wanted to try, to claim every delicious inch.

She stopped thinking about anything but the way Ben made her feel, his body revealing how much he wanted her. She gripped his manhood and licked up his shaft, wanting a taste. She liked how hot he was, how heavy he felt. His heartbeat throbbed through a long vein that ran along the stiff length, his girth intimidating. She tasted the pearly drops leaking from the tip, a little salty. An aphrodisiac more powerful that Phasma’s magic.

She used one hand to stabilize herself, the other fisted him at the base as she slowly licked around him. She was getting him very wet. Slowly, she began to take him into her mouth, sucking on the bulging velvet head, her tongue running under the crown, flicking and teasing a sweet spot that made his body shudder. She smiled, knowing she was getting to him despite his refusal to engage.

She sucked on him hard, then released him, experimentally changing her tempo. She began to hum, a soft little tune that was muffled by the hard length in her throat, but that melody vibrated through him, sending shock waves that radiated from his groin to his fingertips and toes. He couldn’t help but drop one hand to her head, holding her there, not wanting it to stop. 

In the few brief seconds she’d latched on to him, Ben lost control. He now wanted her mouth where it was, suckling hard, running up and down his shaft, taking him so deep he was in her throat, and then she was swirling her tongue around his shaft, teasing the underside of the crown as she came up from air. 

He watched with hooded amber eyes, Rey obviously enjoying what she was doing, a sensual part of her unlocked as she moved on him. Her fingers danced over his warm, smooth balls, rolling gently, squeezing, sliding back up to fist his cock, all the while her mouth was sliding or sucking or her tongue fluttering and dancing. She never stopped and there was no way for him to get his balance or maintain control. 

His heavy balls drew tight, his seed ready to erupt. She sensed the change in the tension of his body. He wrapped her hair around his fist and held her down. Rey laughed but it came out muffled, the vibrations sending sparks down his shaft. 

“Sweetheart, I can’t hold back.” He barely managed to get the words out.

Triumphant, she licked at his head and then swallowed him down again. This time the squeezing around his aching shaft was tremendous. Almost a vise. She felt his cock pulse. Twitch. He closed his eyes and gasped as bliss swept up his taut thighs, rocketing through his shaft until his cock jerked and throbbed, blasting liquid seed down her clasping throat.

He was in ecstasy. He couldn’t breathe, it felt so good. He threw his head back and shouted to the night air, roaring right along with his cock. His hand was fisted in her waves of hair, holding her there while she drank him down. It took an effort to make himself let go. When he did, she came up for air and began to lick at his spent member, cleaning him off so not a drop was wasted.

“By the fires of Exegol,” Ben groaned. “Sweetheart, that was… perfect.”

Rey lifted her head, a smug smile on pink lips. “I like the way you taste.” And she did, he was salty with a kick.

He shook his head, bemused by her unabashed passion. “Perhaps you could make that a part of our mid-morning tea break.”

Her tongue peeked out. “I’d love to, master.”

“I was kidding, Rey.”

“No, you weren’t,” she said. Teasing, coquettish, so unlike her.

She squirmed beside him and he noticed. “How do you feel?”

“Hot and bothered,” she said, her cheeks flushed pink.

He smiled, understanding. It embarrassed her that he probably knew better than she did what her body required. “Are you wet?” he asked.

Her blush deepened. “Excuse me?”

“Between your legs,” he said, his tone soft and low. “Are you slick? Hot?”

Her answer was tremulous. “Yes.”

“I need to take care of you,” Ben said, and Rey’s pulse jumped under her skin. 

He stood, his sex still softly swollen. She could only follow his lead as he pulled her up and lifted her onto his chair. His hands were deft, easing her britches down past slight hips, tugging her worn knickers with them. Rey didn’t know what to think. 

“Lift your knees and let them fall open, sweetheart,” Ben instructed.

Rey hesitated, then did as he asked. She lifted her knees and slowly spread her thighs, exposing herself to a man for the first time. Her tight little curls were a brighter red than her hair. 

“Do you know how to pleasure yourself, baby?” he husked, his hands on the arms of the chair, caging her in but not touching.

Rey couldn’t speak but she nodded.

“Then do it,” he said, the words a harsh command.

Rey was worried- she’d only done this once before. Right there, on this chair and in this room. She placed her hand on her silken mound, spreading shining pink lips, using her thumb to slowly circle the tiny little hooded bud of her pleasure, then pushing a finger deep. An oath she’d never heard before escaped Ben’s lips and she’d always assumed she was up to date on curse words.

He liked watching her, she realized, and that knowledge was powerful. She smiled at him, removing her hand and licking her fingers, her eyes remaining on his face. His cock jerked hard, coming to life once more. Her fingers returned to her quim and she began to move them in and out, pressing deep then shallow, her thumb strumming her clit. Exploring her own body. 

She pulled out, offering him her glistening finger. Her eyes darkened as he drew the digit into his mouth. She returned it to her slit, her hips beginning to thrust in time with her hand. Her thumb pressed harder. But Ben had had enough.

He pushed her hand away and took over. He wanted to use his mouth, drink all that sweet honey from her body, but he didn’t want to scare her. He stroked her clit and then roughly pinched it. She flushed and her mouth opened, moaning with lust. He pushed into her with a thick finger, curling deep, finding her sweet spot, hearing her ragged breathing as he began pumping in and out of her slick sheathe.

He added a second finger, stretching her, hearing her gasp. He flicked her clit and her breathing turned musical, the sound coming from her throat spurring him to be ruthless with his fingers. 

“Please, Ben,” she begged. “More.”

That was it- the permission that he sought.

Rey squeaked as he pulled her close, grasping her by the buttocks so he could bring her moist pink quim to his mouth. He was like a man starved. She screamed his name when he plunged his tongue deep, when he raked her clit with his teeth, when he used his fingers and mouth in unison, eating her out until the little musical notes she made had a sobbing melody.

Hips bucking, she pressed herself to him, chasing her release on pure instinct. He lifted his head and she wailed in despair, raising her mound close to his jaw. He wiped his face on her soft thighs, rubbing the shadow along his jaw over her tender nether lips so the bristles stimulated her more. 

“Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”

Her scrambled brain tried to form words. “Please, Ben. I feel like I’m standing on a cliff. Take me over the edge.” 

He kissed her quim, licked her there. Pushed his tongue inside to reward her. He took his time sucking her clit, making her whimper, and then used his teeth again. “I love how hot you are, Rey. What else do you need?”

“I don’t know!” She sounded desperate, her voice strained. “Something, anything.” 

He smiled. She liked that bite he gave her. The deep thrust with two fingers that stretched and burned. Her response was more scorching hot, liquid honey. Ben ate her quim until she peaked, her orgasm diamond sharp and as bright as the sun. He watched her face while she shattered.

At last, Rey lay back, trying to catch her breath, her legs still splayed wide. “That was incredible,” she squeaked, little breasts quivering. “I never knew I could feel like that.”

He chuckled and desire like a living thing coiled low in her belly. Rey trembled. After all that, how could she want more? The old Rey would have thought herself perverse, but this new girl understood what she was doing with her Jedi master was as old as time and very, very good. She loved Ben and did not need to deny herself what affection he could afford her.

Ben stood up and straightened his clothes before offering her his hand. She pulled up her britches with a blush, letting him lift her to shaky feet. She clung to the Jedi master, trying to maintain balance.

“You decide, sweetheart,” he was saying, the words barely penetrating her hazy mind. “Shall we go over the murder of Master Piell or would you like to return to your dormitory?”

Rey answered promptly. “I want to stay with you, Ben.”

He nodded, as if that was the answer he’d expected.


	7. I Have To Tell The Story

There came a knock on the study door and Rey went to open it. Master Skywalker stood in the corridor, looking drained of colour and energy.

He patted Rey on the shoulder as he came inside. He had enough wisdom to claim the spare chair that stood beside Ben’s. Considering what they’d just done in Ben’s seat, Rey was grateful.

“The New Republic officers are gone,” Luke announced, stretching his legs so his feet were close to the fire. “I wanted to see how far you two have progressed in your investigation considering I’m currently chief suspect in Master Piell’s death.”

Rey and Ben exchanged surreptitious looks of guilt before Ben said, “I was just going to question Rey about what she’d seen.”

“Haven’t you done that yet?” Luke asked, his tone surprised though his eyes were closed. “What have you two been up to?”

Rey flushed bright red, grateful Master Skywalker was too tired to chase the matter further. She perched on a stool and tried to center herself using Jedi breathing techniques. It seemed strange that only minutes ago she’d been naked and abandoned with Master Solo, but she could see he’d already turned his formidable mind to the problem at hand. 

Rey gave an account of everything she had witnessed from the balcony, occasionally answering pointed questions from Ben or Luke during the narrative. At the end of her statement, none of them were any wiser.

“It’s a mystery,” Luke murmured.

“An utter bloody bafflement,” Ben said, sounding annoyed.

Rey told herself not to take his comment personally. She was being sensitive because of what had so recently transpired. The man in question got out of his chair, stirred the fire in an irritated manner and then strode over to a cabinet where he kept his collection of drinks. He began pouring glasses of emerald wine, a particular favourite of Luke’s.

Rey hurried to fetch another log for the fire. To her dismay, she discovered a folded little paper animal balanced on top of the wood pile. Anyone reaching for a log would almost automatically pick up the tiny porg. And when Ben opened the cabinet, Rey saw paper birds sticking out of every goblet.

Blast that Phasma! Had Rey missed all those paper animals or had the blonde witch returned to the office while she and Ben were out? Master Solo simply tipped the paper animals onto a shelf. He appeared oblivious to them, but Rey noticed he’d been careful not to touch them all the same. Had he set off one the spells, she wondered? And if he knew what they were, why hadn’t he got rid of them?

Silly question, she told herself. This was a man who’d once let a vine snake sleep in his study because it was too cold outside. He wouldn’t be concerned about a few small Force imbued objects. He was probably going to study them when he had the chance. Sometimes Ben’s academic curiosity outweighed good sense.

“This couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Luke said, brightening up nonetheless at the sight of the emerald wine. “Everyone knows Even and I were at loggerheads. Our ideas when it came to rebuilding the Jedi temple were quite different, but what no one’s acknowledging is that I understood he cared for our order as much as I did. Why would I kill a man wanting the same end I was seeking- the preservation of the Jedi way?”

“It does look bad,” Rey agreed, jumping back on her stool. “I mean, Master Piell was in the middle of shouting at you when he exploded.”

“Indeed,” Luke murmured, getting misty-eyed. “I’ll miss that curmudgeonly old grumps.” 

Rey bit back an inappropriate giggle.

“The longer this thing takes to solve the worse it will be for you, Uncle Luke,” Ben murmured, holding up his wine glass and peering into the depths of sparkling green liquid. He’d poured an inch of spotchka into a glass for Rey, but like him she wasn’t drinking. “Though if people would only use logic they’d understand it makes no sense for you to kill Master Piell at the banquet, not in front of so many witnesses.”

“Thanks,” Luke said with heavy sarcasm. “It’s nice to hear my nephew believes I’d make a smarter murderer than whoever it was that carried out this plan. I’d find it much more reassuring if you didn’t think me capable of murder in the first place.”

“Reassuring but irrelevant,” Ben declared, earning himself a glower from Master Skywalker.

Once more, Rey smothered a laugh. She was in incredibly high spirits considering the situation. Perhaps sex released tension and promoted a general sense of well-being? She was willing to investigate the matter more with Master Solo.

“It doesn’t have to be a Force-wielder, you know,” Luke said, making Rey jump to attention, a flush warming her cheeks. “It could be anyone armed with the right kind of poison. The police are scouring the kitchen, causing quite the commotion. I believe Chef Tico actually hit a reconnaissance droid on the head and earned herself a warning.” 

“My droids are currently testing the food samples for poison,” Ben said, shooting Rey a questioning look which she studiously avoided, “though I can’t imagine they’ll find anything. No one would be that obvious.”

“Master Piell was checking his food as well,” Rey said, to stop herself from thinking raunchy things about Ben. 

“He didn’t check the towels,” Ben said, “not that we’re learning much from them.” 

He grabbed a small cloth from his tabletop and Rey realized with a start that it was one of the towels used at the main table.

“Is that Master Piell’s towel?” Rey asked.

“No, unfortunately that went up in smoke with him,” Ben replied. “This one’s mine. If the spell or poison that caused old Even’s death came through this cloth, then all the towels would have been affected. After all, the perpetrator couldn’t be sure which towel he would choose.”

Ben was rubbing the towel between thumb and index finger, and Rey promptly imagined him rubbing some other parts of her anatomy, making her knees weak.

“Do you sense anything?” Luke asked interestedly.

Ben shook his head. “I sense everything,” he muttered. “The many souls that have touched this fabric, the Force binding the weave of the cloth itself. Nothing dangerous though. Traces of bleach and detergent from the laundry, and a scent of plom bloom flowers.”

“Plom bloom flowers? Could that be significant?” Rey asked. “The towels we were given in the gallery weren’t scented, but then neither were they folded into fancy shapes. Ours came stacked on a tray.”

“You think Master Piell had a reaction to the plom bloom fragrance?” Ben said, turning it over in his mind. “The way Finn’s tongue shriveled to the size of a raisin after he ate grilled scalefish that one time?”

Rey blinked. She hadn’t realized Ben knew the names of the other padawans, much less her best friend.

“I suppose Master Piell could have reacted to something and exploded, though it does seem an extreme response.”

Master Skywalker stood up and strolled over to the drinks cabinet, his empty wineglass in hand. “A person would have to know Master Piell rather well to realise he couldn’t tolerate plom blooms or scalefish for that matter. Even’s never shown the slightest bit of anxiety at mealtimes. No, I’d bet a hundred credits it’s something more insidious.”

“Then why can’t we find any trace of it?” Ben grumbled, still glaring at his linen square. “I know it’s probably a subtle thing, but still…”

Rey suddenly realized Luke had spotted the untidy pile of little paper birds and was reaching out to touch one.

“Don’t!” she shouted.

At the same time, Ben spilled half his wineglass lurching forward to grab Luke’s arm, crying out, “No!”

“What? What did I do?” Luke demanded. He’d frozen, Ben’s hand gripping his wrist.

Rey stared at Ben and he looked back at her in interest. He’d known about the spell. “The little paper animals are influenced by some kind of magic from Dathomir,” she explained.

Realisation dawned on Ben’s chiseled face and Rey cringed on the inside. “Rey, were you affected by those ridiculous things?” he asked, sounding aghast. “I assumed the spell was specifically tailored to…” His voice trailed off.

“To what?” Rey demanded, suddenly furious.

She couldn’t believe he’d been so cavalier about Phasma’s paper critters! So what if they only affected him? There was still a chance he might have been confounded by her tricks.

“If only I’d known,” Ben muttered, shaking his head. “Go ahead and touch one, Uncle Luke,” he said unexpectedly, turning to Master Skywalker. “They’re annoying, not dangerous.”

Luke eagerly picked up a bird, clearly as curious about how things worked as his nephew. He flinched in surprise and dropped it, his face growing bemused.

“How interesting,” he said. “Rather ingenious but completely unscrupulous. Am I correct in assuming Phasma is behind this?”

“Yes, and I have no idea how it’s done,” Ben said, finishing what few droplets of wine were left in his glass. “I spent hours trying to decipher the Force usage behind it but with no luck. I didn’t even realise its magic was completely indiscriminate. Had I known…” He glanced at Rey and shook his head again.

She flushed, feeling better that at the very least Ben was concerned about her welfare.

Master Skywalker was leaning close to the fallen bird, his hands clasped behind his back as if unwilling to touch it again.

“You can pick it up if you like,” Rey said, reaching over and grabbing it herself. “It’s only paper now.” She undid the folds and smoothed the paper flat.

“I’m such a nerf herder!” Ben exclaimed all of a sudden.

Both Rey and Luke stared at him. “Yes, yes, you are,” Rey murmured to Master Skywalker’s astonishment. She was still annoyed that Ben would be reckless enough to tinker with Phasma’s spells.

“Don’t you see?” Ben said excitedly, not even acknowledging her comment. He went over to gaze at the stack of little paper birds. “Whatever spell has been used to enchant these things is so subtle and elemental that none of us noticed. Now that we know they’re not ordinary, we can sense the Force usage that binds them, but it’s so faint you wouldn’t see it if you weren’t looking for it. Especially in the dining hall with so many other distractions.”

Luke considered this. “I suppose someone could have handed Even one of these perverse little things, but I doubt the shock would have killed him. More likely set him off on one of his rants.”

“But it wasn’t a paper animal,” Rey gasped. “It was a linen towel! The ones for the head table were folded into the shape of flowers.”

“Exactly,” Ben said, giving her an approving grin. “I think whatever was done to this paper was also done to the towels. And just because Phasma wove a lust spell around the paper animals, it doesn’t mean someone else couldn’t have created far deadlier magic in the same way.”

“So that’s why we found no trace of dark Force energies,” Luke mused. “It dissipated after the first touch. But Master Piell was at the far end of the table- everyone else had already touched their towels by then and nothing had happened.”

“You think the dark Force in the folds was targeted at Master Piell,” Rey said to Ben, “just like you assumed Phasma made you the focus of her paper animals. Such a design would have made it safe for everyone else to touch the towels.”

“I have a feeling someone has mastered the art of folding the Force into objects. The effort put into killing old Even was far greater and much more accomplished than what Phasma did with these silly paper animals,” Ben concurred.

“So Phasma didn’t do this?” Luke asked, and Rey was grateful he brought it up since it meant she didn’t have to. She didn’t want to sound jealous or petty.

Ben gave a cool smile. “I think she’s still learning the technique.”

“Oh!” Rey exclaimed. “Remember the way she kept folding things all day? She was practicing, wasn’t she? Doing it over and over so it became second nature like we’re taught at school.”

“I find it quite concerning that neither one of you realized she was dabbling in the dark side of the Force right there in the room with you,” Luke snapped.

Ben shrugged. “It was subtle. Besides, her paper toys don’t really do that much.”

“They do enough,” Master Skywalker muttered. Rey saw the tips of his ears had turned pink. “What kind of moral degenerate leaves those things around where an impressionable young mind might find them?”

Rey supposed he wasn’t wrong- her impressionable young mind had certainly been affected.

“Consider what mischief Phasma could have accomplished had she been any better at this skill,” Ben said, bringing them back on topic. “Someone is that good, and that’s the person we want.”

“The Nightwitches,” Luke sighed.

“One of them, at least,” Ben agreed. “This strikes me as the work of a single fanatic.”

“All the same, they’re not going to react well if we start asking if one of their number is a murderer,” Luke grumbled. “And if we show too much interest in this paper folding magic, the guilty party is sure to flee.”

Ben and Luke settled back into their chairs with frowns on their faces, thinking hard.

Rey sighed, sitting back down on her stool and sipping her spotchka. How maddening to have narrowed their suspects down to one group and yet still not know who had done it. Rose was right, after all. She’d had a bad feeling about all the strangers traipsing through the kitchens…

“Rose!” Rey exclaimed, drawing both Ben’s curious amber eyes as well as Luke’s bright blue gaze. “Yesterday Chef Tico complained that there were all these extra people underfoot. She assumed they were servants and apprentices of the visiting delegates. There was an old woman I’d never seen before sitting in the kitchen, folding laundry. I’d bet Master Skywalker’s hundred credits that it wasn’t clothes but the towels she was folding into the shape of flowers. If Ben and I didn’t notice Phasma playing with the dark side of the Force right under our noses, Rose certainly wouldn’t have noticed someone doing it in her kitchen. But if she saw the old woman again, Rose would recognize her.”

Ben and Luke exchanged glances.

“It’s definitely worth a try,” Luke declared. “Let’s go find Chef Tico. She’s probably still awake with all those police droids scouring her kitchen for clues.”

Rey got up to follow them but Ben stopped her. “No, sweetheart, you stay here. If anything goes wrong Master Skywalker and I can handle it.”

She scowled. It wasn’t fair, hadn’t she done as much as Ben to figure things out?

As if he’d read her mind, he continued, “Besides, if the direct approach fails, you’re the only one in the order qualified to infiltrate the witches’ ranks.” Ben dropped her a wink and closed the door.

Rey felt much better as she contemplated life as a spy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know, in Canon…  
> \- Emerald wine comes from emerald grapes in Lothal, Alderaan and Naboo.  
> \- Vine snakes can be found on the planet Dagobah. Small ones resided in Yoda’s hut.  
> \- Spotchka is a luminous blue liquid made from krill on Sorgan. The Mandalorian defends one such krill farming village from raiders.  
> \- In _The Last Jedi,_ the Master Codebreaker was known to wear a pin shaped like a red plom bloom flower on his lapel.  
> \- There are seven varieties of scalefish (doo, ray, mee, faa, see, laa, tee) and they come from Lake Paonga in Naboo.


	8. My Love For Her Goes On

Alas, Rey’s espionage skills proved unnecessary.

Early the next morning, Master Skywalker summoned the entire Jedi order as well as all their Force-wielding visitors to the main auditorium. Beside him stood one of the two elderly Nightsisters who’d been seated at the head table, her face set in a forbidding scowl. Luke announced that thanks to the timely assistance of Mistress Bazine Netal and the rest of the witches of Dathomir, the culprit who killed Master Piell had been discovered and handed over to the New Republic police force for appropriate punishment. The second witch who’d been seated at the head table was conspicuous by her absence.

Master Skywalker revealed no details as to how the murder was committed and the severe look on his own face discouraged questions. 

Rey was disappointed when Ben was pulled into a meeting immediately afterwards, but fortunately he was running low on Nevarro nummies and she had to pay a visit to the kitchen.

“I couldn’t believe it!” Rose declared, happy to tell her story. “As soon as I saw the group from Dathomir, I recognized the snooty witch at once. She’d been hanging around my kitchen the last two days waiting for a moment when she could do some mischief.” Rose sighed dramatically. “Fortunately, it was only Master Piell we lost and not anyone we’d actually miss.”

Rey tried not to smile over Chef Tico’s scandalous assessment as she climbed the stairs carrying a new bowl of nummies. 

The conference ended tomorrow- surely that meant Phasma was leaving, unless the Nightsisters had decided to pack up early in shame over the conduct of one of their own. Somehow, she doubted a group as proud as them would run away in embarrassment. She could probably learn a thing or two from their confidence as Force users. 

Rey flattened a little paper nerf as she placed the bowl on Ben’s desk. She went to fetch the cookie jar and stopped dead in her tracks. It was already full. That was impossible. She’d been in the study an hour ago when there was only a handful.

She peered at the blue cookies and realized something else- they didn’t look like the ones Rose baked. Their colour was a little darker than the pretty bluey-green of the ones in the bowl, their edges were a little ragged and the nummies weren’t all the same size like the perfect circles Rose produced.

Phasma. How by the molten lava of Mustafar had Phasma managed it? Rey swore ferociously, causing Salacious to stare. The blonde witch had clearly put something in the cookies in one last desperate attempt to ensnare Ben in a ludicrous love spell.

Rey was determined now more than ever to protect her man.

She heard Ben’s voice outside the window. 

His meeting must be over. In a few minutes he would return to the study. What would he do if she tried to warn him? She was quite sure he’d trust her instincts but knowing him, he’d probably try a cookie despite the risks.

She had to do something—but what?

“Well, looks like the monkey-lizards have abandoned me for good,” Ben said cheerfully. 

It was the next day, and he and Master Skywalker were standing on a balcony gazing down at the departing conference crowd. Rey peeked over their shoulders. Phasma was walking along a path to where her spacecraft was docked, following the service droids carrying her luggage. The witch was trying hard to ignore the half a dozen Kowakian monkey-lizards scuttling after her. They gazed up with looks of abject adoration on their little faces, grabbing at the flowing skirt of her dress with muddy paws, leaving long dirty streaks, and stepping on her shoes in their eagerness to be near her.

“You’re not going to miss them?” Luke asked sympathetically.

Ben shook his head. “They were starting to get in the way, though I do have to say it’s odd behaviour for an entire pack to abandon a familiar habitat for an unknown mistress.”

“Makes me wonder if Phasma tested some new love potion on them,” Luke suggested.

“It’s backfired spectacularly, don’t you think?” Ben mused.

“Definitely,” Luke agreed. “In my opinion, concoctions that affect emotions ought to be outlawed unless administered by a medi-droid. Very careless of her to experiment on animals.”

“Phasma’s often careless,” Ben murmured, turning his head to glance at Rey. She tried not to look too interested in the conversation. “Do you suppose Mistress Netal knows how much Phasma helped us in solving Master Piell’s murder?”

Luke began to laugh. “I hope not. That would be bad for Phasma’s career—and possibly her health.”

After another minute of crowd watching, Ben turned to Rey. “Shall we head back to the study, sweetheart?” 

She watched Master Skywalker’s eyebrows lift sky high and hid a smile.

Once they were in his study, Ben began organizing the tea tray. “Light a few candles, will you? It’s a little dim in here.”

Pleased for the opportunity, Rey reached into her coat and produced the glimmering golden krayt dragon, aimed it at a candle and pressed a button. The dragon gave a squeaky roar and a belch, a little flame from its snout lighting the candle.

“By the Force!” Ben said, happily reaching for the toy. “How did you fix it?”

Rey shrugged. “I looked at the pieces and worked out how they fit,” she explained, a little embarrassed since she didn’t want to sound like she was boasting. Her past life in Jakku had required a fair amount of mechanical knowledge. 

“Very good,” Ben said, pressing the button and watching in delight as a plume of fire shot out. Salacious, who’d been about to jump into his lap, was alarmed and curled up by his feet instead. 

As Ben continued to burn up paper animals, exorcising Phasma’s presence from the study, Rey glanced down at the tea tray in surprise. There was a small wheel of Bantha cheese, the good kind that had creamy white flesh, a pot of bright gold zingbee honey and a pile of dark purple grapes. This was fancier than the usual bread and butter the kitchen provided.

Rey sat in the armchair next to Ben and took a bite from a grape, its intense sweetness singing on her tongue. The Loth-cat looked up at her in a hopeful manner- he was too regal to beg, but his attitude indicated his willingness to help if she had any unwanted food items to dispose. Rey swallowed a chuckle, recalling the eager faces of the Kowakian monkey-lizards as she fed them every last crumb of Phasma’s Nevarro nummies. She peeled her next grape and slipped Salacious the tender skin.

“But how did you get it working again?” Ben asked, taking aim at the little paper birds still lying on the ground from the night before.

“It was out of oil,” Rey said, petting Salacious on the head. “No Force abilities or magical spells required.”

To her surprise, she watched the childlike joy leak out of Ben’s face. He set the dragon down on his desk.

“Rey, we need to talk.”

He sounded quite serious and she felt her heart lurch inside her chest. Oh, oh, was this about their time together? They hadn’t yet discussed the carnal encounter and Rey wondered if her master was regretting all that had transpired between them.

“Yes?” she said, hating that she sounded nervous.

Ben took a deep breath and then asked, “Did I take advantage of you last night?”

She stared at him. Whatever she’d expected him to say, that was not it.

“Excuse me?”

“Last night, when we… did things,” he said delicately, making her blush, “were you under the influence of Phasma’s infernal paper animals?”

“No!” Rey gasped. And then, because she was scrupulously honest, she added, “I mean… maybe?”

Ben groaned. “I knew it. The moment you mentioned touching some of those magicked objects I wondered whether your judgment was compromised, if that was why you’d kissed me.” He ran a hand through his thick mane of black hair, tousling already messy waves. “I never should have touched you, Rey. What happened was all my fault. I’m your Jedi master and I should have known not to cross that line with my padawan. As soon as he’s free, I’ll speak to Master Skywalker about reassigning you to someone else…”

“Ben!” Rey shouted, half in shock and half in dismay. “What are you saying? That’s not what I want.”

He looked at her uncertainly. “Are you sure?”

She reached out and took his hand. “Maybe I only had the courage to kiss you because I was half drunk on whatever spell I’d touched, but Ben… I have always liked you.”

“Liked me?” he repeated, losing his somber tone.

She turned scarlet, dropping his hand and focusing on the center of his chest. “You know what I mean.”

“No, sweetheart, I don’t,” he said, and this time she was sure he was teasing. 

Rey told herself she had nothing to be embarrassed about. She wanted to be with this man and make him happy for as long as he let her.

He leaned over the arm of his chair and cupped her face, kissing her. Sheer joy exploded inside of her chest. After a leisurely kiss, he sat back and looked at her, as if unsure about what he wanted to say next.

“What is it?” she asked breathlessly.

“I enjoyed being with you,” he said, reaching out to brush his thumb over her lower lip. “Would it be alright if we did more?”

Rey was unable to form the words to convey how much she wanted to say yes. He must have seen it on her face because his mouth broke into a big smile and then he was on his feet. Both Rey and Salacious watched as Ben unrolled a thick, fluffy rug before the crackling fire and placed the tea tray on the ground beside it. He sat down and beckoned to her. 

She went to him at once, unable to believe this was happening. The moment she was close, he pulled her down between his thighs. 

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he murmured, long fingers deftly tugging at laces and buttons, peeling her tunic and camisole off over her head. Soon, her hose and drawers followed, and Rey was shocked to find herself naked in Master Solo’s arms. 

He cupped her firm little breasts, his lips settling immediately over her left nipple, drawing it into the heat of his mouth. Warmth streaked from her nipple to her blossoming clit. More liquid heat rushed to dampen her skin. She was afraid she would be dripping by the time he was finished but she was unable to push him away. Instead, she cradled his head, arching her slim back to provide better access.

Pleasure shot through her as his teeth nibbled her nipple and then he was sucking hard, his tongue and lips sliding over the other breast. She moaned as his mouth worked over her swollen, needy flesh. She wanted his fingers between her legs as well, but he didn’t comply, not even when she bucked her hips in invitation.

At last he lifted his head and all she wanted to do was yank him back to her. Nothing felt as good as when Ben touched her. 

“I organized a special tea,” he murmured, licking around her areola, catching her nipple between his teeth and pulling gently. “Shall we eat?” 

Goodness, his voice. She loved the smooth, low timbre of it, even deeper now he’d been up most of the night. She tried to center herself, but his kisses had scrambled her brain. It was easier to do as he asked without thinking. 

He pulled off his ribbed black shirt and undershirt. His bare chest gleamed smooth and well-muscled in the firelight. Then he stood to remove his britches and boots, laying them aside. Rey nearly imploded like Master Piell had done. Ben pushed the tray closer to her and she saw the little purple grapes, the pot of honey and the small wheel of cheese. 

She cut a piece of cheese and smeared it with honey, feeding it to him. He licked her fingers as he took the morsel and she could now see he was every bit as aroused as her. Only then did she notice a carafe of water and a bowl of ice chips. He really had thought of everything. 

His hand stroked up her bare thigh, settling over the warm mound. “Are you ready for me, sweetheart?”

She didn’t know what to say. He leaned over to kiss her and his firm chest brushed her breasts. She wanted more. Her little bud pulsed and throbbed. Her sex wept and clenched. He caught her hand and brought it down to her dripping quim, easing her fingers inside. 

“That’s all mine, Rey,” he whispered. She moaned when he brought that same hand to his mouth, licking her fingers.

He took a finger full of golden honey and painted her weeping slit with it, pushing more inside her snug channel. The he laid her out on the rug and bent his head, fastening his mouth between her legs, licking that honey from her quivering flesh. She couldn’t help the cry of need that escaped.

He took his time devouring her and all she could do was push toward him, brazenly offering her sex to his lips and tongue, desperate for all he could give. Ben remained resolutely in control, merely tormenting her, using his fingers to stoke her flame. He grabbed an ice chip from the bowl and used it on her stiff little clit, flicking the bud with his tongue. She cried out, her body lifting off the floor. That wasn’t enough for him, and he caught the hard spiral of her clit between his teeth. This caused explosions to go off in her brain, her slick sheath spasming. 

“Ben!” she cried out his name, unsure whether she wanted him to stop or keep going forever.

He smiled wickedly, tugging with his sharp white teeth, scraping that sensitive bundle of nerves. Her breath rushed from her lungs and she nearly went over the edge. She was so close. Tension coiled so tight. “Please,” she whimpered.

He caught her by the waist and flipped her over, grabbing her hips and dragging her to her knees. Now her breasts swung free and every nerve in her body felt exposed, buzzing with desire. 

His mouth was everywhere, his teeth, his fingers. He took full advantage of her position, fondling every inch of silken skin. She tried to push back and impale herself on his steel erection. It was so close, pressed into the soft cleft of her buttocks as he kissed his way down her spine. His hand smacked hard on her smooth cheeks, reprimanding.

“No,” he told her, his voice a growl. “When I say, baby. No sooner.”

Her velvet tunnel clenched, her breasts swaying, skin flushed. She wanted more, desperate for any kind of touch from the Jedi master. Her sanity had fled and some part of her knew it, but she no longer cared. Her body was set to burst.

And then he paused, gripping her slick thighs and spreading them even wider, placing the bulging head of his cock at her entrance. 

“Yes, yes, yes,” she urged, chanting her need, not even knowing what she was asking.

“Is this your first time, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice betraying how tenuous his own control was.

“Yes!” she wailed. “Please, Ben!”

“I like that I’m your first,” he murmured, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling back, exposing her throat for several bruising kisses. “And I intend to be your only.”

He slid his long, thick shaft inside her, spreading the petals of her tight pink quim, a brutal, shocking invasion that she welcomed. She screamed with delight and heard his laughter like a distant thing. His fingers tightened on her hips as he drove into her, over and over. His ferocious thrusts jolted her little breasts, making them bounce. One hand caught her throat and tilted her head back. Her snug sheathe tightened around his cock.

He smacked her again on her firm bottom. “Not yet, sweetheart. We do this together. Breathe through it.”

She tried desperately to obey, fighting off her climax, thinking only of him. What he wanted. 

“Good,” he whispered. “That’s my girl.”

She felt like liquid flame. He was stretching her wet velvet tunnel, swelling wider and longer as he pistoned into her. Achingly deep, pushing at her inner walls. His cock was a hot chunk of steel, branding her.

“Ben!” She couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Now, my love.” He smacked her bottom again as he slammed his cock deep inside, jolting her body hard. She couldn’t catch her breath, and then she was exploding, fragmenting, her orgasm liquid and vicious. It went on and on, luscious waves that kept her gasping and shuddering, her quim clamped down on his shaft, milking every drop of hot seed from him.

She eventually collapsed, his cock still hard and sensitive, her implosion of hot honey bathing him and making him shudder along with her. He collapsed over the top of her, his weight crushing her, but she didn’t mind. Her body still pulsed and throbbed, her mind adrift in a sea of bright white stars. They lay like that for a long while.

Ben moved first, rolling away and gently turning her over. “Did you enjoy that, sweetheart?” 

She giggled and nodded. She was exhausted now, ready for slumber. It had been a late night for her too. Ben seemed to agree and his strong arms curled around her, pulling her humming body against his chest. Rey nestled against him, safe and secure. As she sank into the depths of a dreamless sleep, she recalled his words while their bodies had crashed into one another.

The Jedi master had called her his love. 

She would have sat up except Ben was already asleep, snoring softly with his face buried in the waves of her hair. Rey set aside the memory and drifted away. They had the rest of their lives to discover what they meant to each other. 

All because of a meddling witch.

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired to write this fanfic based on a short story titled _Spellbound_ by Donna Andrews and all credit goes to the original author. It was cool turning her amazing work into a Star Wars story. May I also add, I love a good murder mystery.
> 
> In this alternate universe, the character of Ben Solo never fully became Kylo Ren and is a lot less angsty for it. I loved the idea of turning him into an absent-minded professor type and here’s the result. My favourite thing about the Reylo ship is that they are on equal footing in terms of power and ability, which brings a deeper understanding of one another. I wish they’d had more time to work together in the movies- that would have been fascinating. 
> 
> A huge shout out to Wookieepedia.com for incredible and obscure Star Wars facts. The title of this fic comes from the poet Amanda Lovelace: “I’m pretty sure you have stardust running through those veins- women are some kind of magic.” The chapter titles come from one of my favourite songs in the whole world- the lyrics seemed appropriate. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Comments are very welcome. Xoxo


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